A Misunderstanding Or Two
by Queen Regent Of The North
Summary: Misunderstandings can lead to new things...the question is will they be for the better? Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson have to live with the stress of the modern world as well as the huge crush they have on one another...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello and welcome to my very first modern fic. I get the oddest of feelings this might turn out into a rather lengthy story...but I hope you guys enjoy *chews lip nervously***

**Please excuse any stupid mistakes I typed it out on my phone and sometimes my fingers can't keep up **

**I don't own them but if anyone is offering to but them for me... (Hint hint) **

"Good Morning Mrs Hughes, your coffee is on your desk and Gwen dropped off the the files you've been wanting this morning"

"Thank you Anna, any phone calls?"

"Only one, Mr Robert Crawley wants you to phone him back regarding the designs for the new offices"

Damn. She had hoped that Mr Charles Carson would have phoned from London to check in but then again she supposed he wouldn't. But she missed him dreadfully even though she shouldn't. They were, after all, only business associates but she missed his deep voice in the morning and the way he would frown as he read through paperwork, lifting his eyebrows if he was displeased with something. They worked in opposite offices to one another and quite often she'd glance up to find him watching her thoughtfully. Now all she saw was a darkened office while he was away on business. She missed going out for drinks with him after work (just as friends of course, though she had been called Mrs Carson quite often) and just chatting about the days work. She always found it amusing when he ranted about Mr Crawley's personal assistant Mr Mosely, just like he always managed a snicker when she ranted about Mrs Crawley's PA Miss O Brian. She missed these naughty laughs they had and all the random discussions they managed to have.

"Mrs Hughes?

Elsie jumped slightly

"Sorry Anna, what was that?" She asked

"Nothing Mrs Hughes, its just that you were standing staring into space and I wondered if you wanted something?" The young woman asked

"Oh...no..sorry, I was wool gathering. My apologies" she said and sidled into her office. Just as her phone began to ring

"Hello?"

"Thank god you answered your phone" said a very familiar deep baritone voice

"Charles? What's the matter?" She asked. He never started a conversation with out the usual pleasantries first unless something was wrong

"They've moved our case hearing up to tomorrow, and I need you down here" he quickly explained

'Damn it' she thought before kicking herself into action

"I'll book my train ticket right away then, and let you know how soon I can get there" she said "is there anything I need to bring with me?"

"From the week I've had a double gin and two asprins does not sound like a bad idea" he sighed down the phone making her chuckle "I'll need the case files from William please" he added in a more serious tone.

"Alright, I'll try and pry them from his arms" she teased. William was notorious for holding onto documents from everyone other than Charles, whom he treated like a god.

"Just use your womanly charms, Elsie, and the man will melt." Charles said before hanging up.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?' She wondered as she threw her phone back into her bag and turned on her laptop to book her train ticket online.

"Mr Crawley is on the line Mrs Hughes" came Anna's voice through the intercom

"Put him through please Anna"

"Mrs Hughes, what's this about the trail being moved up?" Came Robert Crawley's voice

She sighed and rubbed her temples. She had hoped for a relatively quiet day at work today

"Sir, Carlise and Co have managed to get it moved up. I'm going down there tomorrow morning first thing" she said as professionally as possible. Her boss swore quite loudly down the phone causing Elsie to blink in surprise. She'd never heard him say anything other than damn.

"Take Anna with you please, she needs the experience. Is there anything you need?" He asked

"Mr Carson asked that I get the case files from William..." She hesitantly said and heard him press down a laugh on the other side

"I'll handle it." He assured her. Sometimes being head senior partner had its perks "do you think we can clear him?"

"I'll re read over the case tonight sir, but I believe so" she said. Although Carlise was very good at bringing in new information at the last minute, this was now the third appeal for Mr Bates and Elsie was confidant that she and Charles would manage to clear him. Or at very least get him a new trial.

'Excellent." He said before saying goodbye and dropping the phone. She lent back in her chair and reached for her coffee to take a sip. It had gone cold. She groaned and asked Anna to bring in another cup. This was going to be one hell of a week.

Red, that's all he could see. How dare that Carlise get that case moved ahead? Was he that worried they were going to beat him? Well now he'd asked for it. All he'd managed to do was give Charles an even greater determination to beat him. That and a reason to see the woman he'd be in love with for the last five years a little earlier than expected. Elsie Hughes had marched into his office with Robert Crawley one morning had introduced herself, taken over half his cases and had marched back out taking his heart with her and she still hadn't returned it. Not that Charles particularly wanted her to. So if having the case earlier than expected gave her a reason to come to london so be it. Charles couldn't wait to see her in action in court. She had a knack of getting witnesses to trust her and tell her everything she wanted to know or she could make them squirm in their seat until once again admitting everything. She was a marvel to behold.

"Mr Carson, Mrs Hughes just emailed to say that her train arrives tomorrow at nine and to please send the car" His PA Thomas Barrow informed him as they made their way down to the dining room for supper.

"Why is she coming down?" Asked Mary, the eldest daughter of his boss. It was no secret that the two of them didn't really get on too well which made Charles's life rather hard at times as he was her God Father and loved her as if she was his own.

"The Bates appeal was moved up, and your father wants us both on the case" he explained

"I don't see why, I'm sure you're perfectly capable of managing by yourself" the young woman sniffed as they sat down at a table. He sighed heavily

"Mary, why do you disl-" he began to ask before he was interrupted

"Mrs Hughes is a valuable employee at this firm. We would lose half of our cases if it wasn't for her." Thomas snapped at her. Charles raised his eyebrows in surprise, he'd never heard Thomas say anything nice about someone before. Mary opened her mouth to respond but Charles stopped her

"Enough. She's coming and that's that." He said causing Mary to glare at him "let's just eat. I have work to do"

He didn't want to imagine Mary's reaction if she knew he was hopelessly in love with the woman she couldn't stand.

**I decided to make Thomas a bit nicer than usual cause in the modern world he wouldn't have to hide who he was. I'm sorry for all the Mary lovers out there...I like her in season 2 and 3 but I'm sort of channeling season 1 at the moment. So please please please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is more of a second introduction chapter but it should start to take off more in the next chapter, however I hope you enjoy it :) **

"Cars here Mr Carson" Thomas barked down the intercom before answering the phone once again. It had been going off the hook ever since the press had found out the appeal had been moved up and Charles was now more than sick of it. He wasn't entirely too sure why this particular case was attracting so much public attention though according to Elsie it was because the late Vera Bates had been a renowned lingerie model and designer. Charles honestly couldn't give a damn about who she was but ever since she had been found dead on her kitchen floor there had been an absolute frenzy, even more so when her estranged husband had been arrested.

"Ready sir?" The driver asked him, looking rather sleepy. 'He looks as though he's had a hard night out' Charles thought

"Yes thanks Mr Branson" he said and disappeared behind his morning newspaper for the next fifteen minutes

"We're here sir" the man announced as he pulled up to a curb in front of the train station. Charles checked his watch, 10 minutes early, excellent.

"Thank you Branson" he said as he climbed out of the car and went to wait on the platform. He felt a bit stupid personally going to pick her up but he felt it was the gentlemanly thing to do. Also this way they could quickly go over the case in the car

'Yes Charles because that's definitely needed after spending an hour on the phone to her last night' he thought. The platform was getting extremely crowded as the arrival time got closer and Charles had been pushed towards the back of the crowd so when the train actually did arrive he had to push to get closer. 'Where the hell is she?' He wondered as finally the crowds began to disperse and there had been no sign of her.

"O Brian I do not care if you cannot find your ipad, I happen to be running late and you're blocking the door!" He suddenly heard her strong scottish accent ring out and he fought to stop himself from grinning. God he had missed that sound!

"Mrs Hughes, if I cannot find it then I cannot help Mrs Crawley plan her brunch for next week!" He heard O Brian answer back peevishly 'More like she wouldn't be able to be sending Lang emails all day long' he thought

"I'm not asking you to leave the thing behind, I'm asking you to get out of the way so that the rest of us can get on with our lives." Mrs Hughes snapped and a few seconds later he saw her striding towards the exit with a face like a thunder cloud

"Elsie!" He called and quickly followed her. She turned in surprise at the sound of his voice and her face brightened considerably when she spotted him

"Charles! I didn't know you were picking me up" she greeted when he reached her.

"You know me, I can't let a lady find her way round with no assistance" he grinned as he relieved her of her bag

"Oh please Charles, I've been coming to London for the last I don't know how many years with out assistance" she scoffed "but thank you all the same"

"Where is Anna?" He asked, looking round as if she might be hiding somewhere

"She's coming on the next one, apparently she had a few last minute things to do before she could leave. Personally I think it was because she didn't want to travel with O Brien but there you have it" Elsie explained

"So where actually is the ipad?" He asked teasingly and she coloured slightly

"You heard that did you? Its in her blue carry on, with the red handle"

"So why didn't you tell her that?" He asked as they wove their way back to the car

"Because she would have accused ME of putting it there"

"Did you?"

"I might have" she sniffed as he roared with laughter. "Its not my fault she can't keep track of her own items"

"No I dare say its not" he agreed, opening the door for her "so how was the journey down?"

"Not too bad thanks, apart from some dismal travel companions." She said while rolling her eyes.

"That's good" he said biting back another laugh "I suppose we should quickly go over the case again?" She agreed and they spent the rest of the trip discussing tactics. Well, she discussed tactics while he sat back and watched her work, agreeing when . He almost wished that she'd stayed in Yorkshire, he was going to find it hard to concentrate with her in a hotel room next door to him. Why on earth did she have to be so damn sexy?

"Charles are you listening to me?" She suddenly demanded

"Huh? Oh yes, sorry" he said quickly

"You haven't a clue what I just said do you?" She smirked

"No I haven't" he admitted sheepishly and her smirk grew more pronounced

"I asked if you'd like to stop for a quick cup of coffee? We have time and that stuff on the train was awful"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea Mrs Hughes" and she tapped Branson on the shoulder to let him know.

Once seated in the cozy little coffee shop that she had dragged him into he could almost pretend that he'd finally worked up the nerve to ask her on a date. Only problem was that the shop was filled with business people and she was busy re organizing her brief case.

"Good morning, my name is Daisy and I'll be your...Aunty Elsie! What are you doing here?" A small timid looking girl exclaimed. Elsie looked up in surprise

"Daisy? I might say the same to you! Is your mother here? I'm here on a case."

"She is, we're helping Isobel while Mrs Bird is ill" Daisy beamed at her

"You never mean to tell me that Isobel is here as well?" Elsie gasped in astonishment and Daisy nodded enthusiastically. Charles at this point was hopelessly lost. He had no idea who Isobel or this timid looking girl were but Elsie seemed to be happy to see her so he sat back and watched the exchange.

"Isobel isn't here at the moment, but let me fetch mum. Ivy can manage the kitchen for a few minutes" Daisy said and hurried off to the kitchen only to return two minutes later, dragging a short, round, red haired woman along with her.

"Beryl!" Elsie said with a huge grin on her face and the other woman half tackled her with a bear hug

"Oh, where are my manners?" Elsie gasped once the other woman had released her "Beryl, this is Charles Carson. Charles, this is Beryl Patmore and her daughter Daisy"

"You never are! The famous Charles Carson whom Elsie never shuts up about at christmas?" Beryl teased with a mischievous glint in her eye

"Beryl, don't exaggerate" Elsie scolded but charles noticed that she'd gone bright red

"Pleasure to meet you both" he said he shook hands with both of them "how do you know Elsie?"

"She never mentioned me?" Beryl asked, surprised. "I'm her sister in law". He glanced towards Elsie again to see her staring out of the window, seemingly ignoring the conversation

"I didn't even know she had a brother" he said

"Well she doesn't anymore. He died when Daisy was two" Beryl explained and Charles immediately regretted bringing it up

"I'm sorry" he said, looking sheepishly at his feet

"Don't be. You weren't to know" Beryl assured him with a smile

"Charles. We better go else we'll be late" Elsie interrupted.

"Now? But we haven't even had our coffee yet" he said turning towards her surprised

"I hadn't realized the time" Elsie lied and grabbed her briefcase and marched out the door.

"It was lovely meeting you" said Charles hurriedly to the two woman and hurried after her.

**Next chapter we will be meeting Mr Bates and maybe Isobel. We'll also get moving with the case. Reviews make me write a lot faster though...(No you don't get much more desperate) **


	3. Chapter 3

**I am not a lawyer nor am I studying law (although I do want to) so please forgive me if the procedure isn't correct. Google was as much help as a glass hammer in this aspect. Big thank you to my 'sister' who helped me out of a confusing situation! **

Elsie quickly clambered into the car and took a few shaky breaths to calm herself. It was lovely seeing Beryl again but she wished Jack's death had not come up in front of Charles. Even 15 years later it was still to hard to talk or even think about. Charles had now caught up to her and slid into the car

"What the hell was that about?" He demanded to know after he had slammed the door shut and Branson had pulled away from the curb

"What was what about?" She asked while staring out of the window

"Oh please Elsie you know exactly what I'm talking about. You just shot out of that coffee shop as if a thousand wolves were behind you" he snapped

"Why do you even care Charles? You've never cared about my personal life before!" She snapped back at him

"Of course I care Elsie, I care a great deal" he said, looking extremely hurt

"Can't you just leave it?" She sighed turning to look at him with tears in her eyes

"No I can't" he said in a softer tone than before and reached over to take her hand. Never in all his years of knowing her had he ever seen her cry and it was breaking his heart "you can trust me Elsie"

"I didn't mean that I don't trust you Charles, I just don't want to talk about it. Especially not just before court" She said softly and squeezed his hand gently

"I understand." He said softly and she smiled gratefully. They spent the rest of the journey in relative silence, which suited Charles just fine as she had never removed her hand from his.

"Good morning Mr Bates, how are you this morning?" Elsie asked brightly as she sat down next to him

"As well as can be expected thank you Mrs Hughes" he replied with a small smile

"Just don't let Carlise bully you into saying anything" Charles advised "keep your answers short and to the point"

"Will do Mr Carson" he assured him

"Ah look Tracy, our competition has arrived" a smooth voice came from behind them. Elsie turned to look and found herself face to face with Richard Carlise. She nodded in greeting and turned back to her paper work hoping he would get the message and leave them alone

"I was hoping Robert himself would be coming down, although I suppose he doesn't want to lose himself so he sent two people from further down the ladder" the obnoxious man continued. Elsie felt Charles bristle next to her, if there was thing he hated it was when people assumed he wasn't good at his job, so she kicked him under the table before he could retort. Carlise, clearly disappointed in the lack of response sauntered over to his table where he then struck up conversation with his meek looking secretary.

"Don't let him get to you either" she advised Charles quietly and glared at him until he nodded meekly and Mr Bates chuckled.

"Where on earth is Anna? She was supposed to have been here by now" she groused as she glanced towards the doors

"We'll have to start with out her" Charles whispered quickly

"All rise for the honorable Griggs" the office said loudly and they all scrambled to their feet.

"Blast" she heard Charles mutter "you'll have to take this"

"What? Why?" She squeaked

"I'll explain later"

"You may be seated" the man muttered sullenly "Crawley and sons may I hear your opening statement?"

"Yes your honor" said Elsie and quickly shot to her feet and began to speak only the judge interrupted her

"What are you wearing?" He asked

"Excuse me?"

"I asked what you were wearing Mrs Hughes" he repeated

"Um...I believe its called a slack suit sir" she said, a little confused. She was wearing a lilac slack suit that was fitted round her tiny waist and made seem slightly taller than she actually was

"In my court room, Mrs Hughes and this goes for all you woman, you will wear a skirt please" the judge said matter of factly. Carlise's secretary smirked and crossed her long stocking clad legs in front of her.

"Of course sir, my apologies" Elsie quickly said glancing towards Charles who had gone bright red. 'Embarrassment or anger?' She wondered

"Let's continue" the judge said and the case resumed.

"You have some explaining to do" she told him as they left

"What do you mean?" He asked and she snorted

"There's an atmosphere between you and that judge if ever I saw one Charles and you know I hate them".

He sighed and began to explain

"We went to law school together and we got drunk one night and he woke up in front of the whole class"

"That's recoverable" she mused

"He also stole my girlfriend and I might have broken his nose"

"Might have?"

"Ok, did"

"We're screwed" she muttered

"Not necessarily, I'm sure you have better legs than Tracy" He teased and she rolled her eyes

"I cannot believe a judge would dare make a comment of what everyone else is wearing" she ground out angrily

"Not everyone. Just you." He reasoned and she whipped round to glare at him

"Charles Carson would you like me to break YOUR nose for you?" She demanded with her hands on her hips

"You wouldn't dare" he grinned and she narrowed her eyes at him

"I grew up on a farm in Scotland. I think you'll be rather surprised to see just what I would dare to do."

"Point taken" he laughed, raising his hands in surrender.

"Good" she said, smiling again and began trying to flag a cab down

"Elsie? Branson is here with the car" he told her. "I know that Charles, but I need to go shopping and I doubt you or Branson want to be dragged around the nearest shopping center looking for skirts" she told him as she opened the cab door

"Ah Elsie you wound me, I thought by now you'd know that I'd follow you anywhere" he said in a light tone before closing the cab door after her and tapping the roof. This arrangement suited him rather well actually. He had a call to make without Elsie.

'You'd follow me anywhere would you?' Elsie wondered as she was driven off. Was he only teasing? Or was there more to the story? She hoped so but she also didn't want to get her hopes up too high. She flicked a small fleck of dust off her sleeve and grimaced. She wasn't fond of wearing skirts in the middle of winter and didn't appreciate being forced to wear one. There was nothing wrong with her slack suit! It was fitted and it was in a girly colour, what more did the man want? On the other she knew she had good legs and she knew she could use them to her advantage..both with the case and with Charles.

**I admit I did steal a scene from both 'The Good Wife' and 'Suits'. Don't hate me for it! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay I officially love you guys! Your reviews have made my day, which was rather depressing because I kept repeating a nasty thing a woman said to me last week in my head. But as they 'haters gonna hate!' :) also, I was recently haunting Youtube for downton vids and there's two I want to mention. First off, there's a Chelsie fanvid done to 'Make you feel my love' by Adele. Who ever did this deserves an award! I cried my eyes out over it (which is no small thing for me). Second in the one interview Phyllis Logan said that 'the Jury out on this one for me still" referring to chelsie. Omw if Carson and Hughes are not in love then I swear Phyllis and Jim are. They just scream 'in love' at me on screen. Is it possible they've been asked to seem in love and then deny it in interviews? P.S I love what she's wearing in that one! Ok enough rambling, on with the story **

"Excuse me? Would you mind fetching Daisy or Beryl for me please?" Charles asked a waitress who was slowly wiping down a table. She nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Mr Carson! I wasn't expecting to see you here so soon." Beryl said in surprise as she came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. "Oi Daisy?! Bring us a pot of tea will you please...unless you aren't planning on staying long enough?"

"I'm staying long enough" he confirmed and Daisy disappeared

"How can I help Mr Carson?" She asked as they sat down at a table

"I want to know why Elsie got upset when you mentioned your late husband and I want to know why she never mentioned you" he said as Daisy set down a tray

"Shouldn't you be asking her this?" Asked Beryl as she fussed with the teapot

"I did" he said heavily "but she refused to talk about it"

"Typical" Beryl muttered, then seeing his confused look she added "when ever Elsie is hurting or is under strain, she blocks everyone around her out. I think its because she doesn't like appearing weak"

"I've never seen her cry before today" he mused, more to himself than anything

"Exactly." Beryl said

"So will you tell me?" He asked. Beryl hesitated before nodding and starting her tale

"You probably won't know this but Elsie's life hasn't been and easy one. Her father was an alcoholic and drug addict and got violent very easily. Her mother died when Elsie was only nine months old and for awhile her father managed to pull himself together until she was about three years old but I think the pain and struggle was too much and he reverted to his old ways. For awhile it wasn't bad, he still managed to put food on the table and keep them all healthy but it got progressively worse until one day Jack, her elder brother was forced to get a job at our families bakery so that he could feed his sisters. Their father insisted that his salary be paid directly to him as he didn't want his son getting above himself, or so he said. The only money Jack got directly was tips from the customers. Sometimes if there were left over pies or rolls he'd get those as well. The two girls were given Scholarships into the local school and both of them worked hard to get their grades and both of them waitressed when they got to high school. Jack couldn't do school and work so he dropped out and continued to work for us, learning what he could from the girls when he had time. On his 15th birthday we decided to throw him a small birthday party and invited his father and the girls for tea and cake one afternoon. We didn't realize how bad life had got for them until their father walked in stinking of drink and looking as though he hadn't had a bath for a month. My father and him and a minor argument about football and Mr Hughes lost it. He started flinging things around and breaking everything. My mother managed to get Gail and I out of harms way but Elsie wasn't so lucky. Her father pushed her and she fell into on of our glass displays. She still has the scars on her back. Jack managed to escape and phoned the police who removed him and he lost custody of them. They ended up in a foster home not far from us and my mother and I would often go and visit them. Jack managed to catch up on his education and Elsie the clever clogs got herself into law school while Gail became a nurse and went to Ireland. We hear from her occasionally. But Elsie always blamed herself for what her brother sacrificed for her. She felt that she had stolen his childhood away from him"

"Oh my god" said Charles quietly "I never knew"

Beryl patted his arm gently, and dabbed away a rogue tear

"Don't tell Elsie you know, she'll never forgive either of us."

"What happened to Mr Hughes?" Charles asked gently

"Rotting in some prison somewhere I hope" Beryl said bitterly. Charles got the sense she wasn't telling him everything but decided not to push it.

"Why does Elsie call herself Mrs?" Charles suddenly said as Beryl finished her tea

"I'm not too sure actually" said Beryl thoughtfully "she always has done, never thought to ask her. I call myself 'Mrs Patmore' purely because the business was a family one"

"I see. Well thank you very much for the tea and the story, Beryl, its cleared up a lot I've never understood about Elsie" Charles said, standing up to go.

"It was nice talking to you Charles." Beryl said "Elsie talks a lot about you, you know?"

"I didn't know. But I'm honored that she does" said Charles going a little red on the tips of his ears

"Oh be off with you" Beryl chuckled and Charles laughed and left.

Her feet hurt, her head hurts and she was sick and tired of shopping. She didn't like anything she'd seen so far and she was running out of hours and shops. If another shop assistant told her she looked 'absolutely fabulous' in something she felt absolutely hideous in she was going to scream. Why couldn't they have got a decent judge? Who had some appreciation for slacks? Was that really so much to ask for? Her phone was ringing again so she sat down on a stool and fished it out of her bag.

"Hello?"

"Mrs Hughes you sound absolutely knackered" came the silky voice of Thomas Barrow "how's the skirt shopping going?"

"Horribly thanks Thomas, I'm assuming Mr Carson told you where I was?" She asked wearily

"He did" the man confirmed "he also asked me to inform you that we're all meeting for supper at The Unicorn at around six."

"The Unicorn?"

"Its just down the road from the Hotel, a friend of O Brian's owns it." He informed her and she groaned

"He also said to tell you that he quite understood if you were too tired to make it" Thomas chuckled

"I'll see how I feel. Thanks for letting me know" she said

"No problem. Oh and Mrs Hughes? A little advise. With this judge I would suggest you dress to kill so look for something you'd want the love of your life to see you in" he advised

"Hmph. Thank you Thomas I'll try" she assured him and disconnected the call.

"...after all the love of your life will be seeing you in them" thought Thomas with a smirk.

**Read...review...repeat ;) please let me know what you think of Elsie's back story...my friend liked it but I'm still nervous about it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Have you guys seen the Youtube vid "I Ship It" by not literally productions? Its rather good. **

"So Mrs Hughes did you find anything for court tomorrow?" Asked Thomas as they sat down at their table. The place O Brian had dragged them to wasn't as bad as Elsie had expected. In fact it was rather nice, tastfully decorated and the menu looked simple yet delishis. The only draw back was that O Brian herself had joined them.

"I did, thank you Thomas. Your advise helped a great deal"

"Glad I could help. Hopefully it makes our judge weak at the knees " he winked and she felt herself colour slightly

"...And you Charles? How was your afternoon?" She asked, hoping to divert the attention from herself

"Not too bad thanks, I went to visit a friend and had a good chat" he said as they were all handed a menu

"I wasn't aware you had any friends in London' Mary piped up from the other end of the table, looking up from her menu

"Mary its none of your buisness who he's friends with" Her mother chided and Mary rolled her eyes

"I don't" said Charles "she just happened to be in London at the moment"

'She?' wondered Elsie, stiffening slightly

"Well well Mr Carson has a lady friend, who would have thought it? How long have you been together?" asked Sarah O Brian in a mocking tone, causing Elsie to clench her hands in effort not to throw something at her  
"We are not together" huffed Charles indignatly and Elsie relaxed slightly though she couldn't help but wonder who this woman was. Charles had never mentioned her before. Then again, she had never mentioned she had a brother and a niece before so she couldn't really expect him to have told her everything.

"I hope you don't mind, I've invited a long time friend to join us" Elsie suddenly piped up

"Not a problem, the more the merrier" said Charles, relieved to have the subject changed. he really hadn't wanted it to come out that he'd been to visit Beryl. "By the way what time is Anna arriving?"

"I had a email from her earlier, she said that she wouldn't be able to make it until tomorrow afternoon." Elsie explained

"Did she say why?" asked Charles and Elsie shook her head no.

"Elsie!" A shrill voice came from behind her and Elsie twisted in her chair to see who it was

"Isobel! You made it" she replied and jumped up to hug her friend

"I did. Mathew's plane was thankfully early and Richard actually made it home from the hospital in time, wonders never cease" The blonde woman said, gesturing to the two men behind her.

"Everyone this is Isobel Clarkson, her husband Richard and her son Mathew" Elsie introduced her to everyone

"How do you know Cousin Isobel, Mrs Hughes?" Cora Crawley asked in bemusement

"Cousin Isobel?" asked Elsie, glancing between her friend and her employers wife

"Robert and my late husband are distantly related" Isobel supplied "though we haven't actually seen each other since he died."

"Oh I see. Well Isobel and I went to school together and she got my Elder sister into nursing school" Elsie explained

"Well come on you lot, make room for our guests please" barked out Charles and they all re arranged themselves. Elsie found herself seated between Isobel and Charles, while Richard struck up a conversation with Thomas and poor Mathew ended up between Cora and Mary.

A few hours and quite a bit of wine later, Elsie, Charles,Richard, and Isobel were all doubled up with laughter

"...So then she said 'I'm sorry sir, I'd rather take your dog home' and got up off the floor and left him standing there!" Isobel finished and wiped away her tears of laughter

"It was a cute dog!" Elsie defended herself, swirling the rest of her wine around

"Poor man. He must have been heart broken" chuckled Charles

"He was, when she dumped him two months later after getting into law school" Isobel said matter of factly and Elsie went scarlet.

"He grew on me" she said and Isobel dissolved into helpless giggles again.

"Friends as sorry as I am to end this evening, Elsie and I have court in the morning" Charles regrettfully said and called for the bill

"Yes Izzy, its 11 and I promised Ethel she could go at half past" Richard piped up and drained his glass. Mathew and Mary had vanished ages ago and everyone had slowly dwindled away

"Alright alright I'm coming" groused Isobel and stood up "Elsie dearest, promise me we can do this again soon? I've missed you!"

Elsie also got to feet and gave her a hug "Of course! I'll text you as soon as I have a few minutes free. My boss is a slave driver"

"Don't listen to her for a moment" interuppted Charles "whenever someone mentions 'vacation' she helps herself to everyone elses cases."

"Typical" laughed Isobel and gave her one last hug goodbye before leaving.

"Shall we walk back to the hotel? Its only two blocks away and I need some air" Charles suggested as Elsie gathered up her things.

"I'd love too" she told him and took hold of his arm

"So you and Isobel certainly had some adventures in school" He commented half way through their walk

"That we did. Isobel is one of those people that you can't help but have with. Disastrous to try and do homework with, but a great person to have around othewise" Elsie said with a wistful look in her eye

"I take it Richard is her second husband?"

"He is. Her first husband died in a car crash when Mathew was in his teens. Richard was his best friend and she slowly fell in love with him. I was maid of honour at both her weddings" Elsie said a little sadly. She had been fond of Reggie and missed him a lot. Still, Richard had given Isobel new life and she couldn't be happier for the both of them.

"Well my room is this way" Charles interuppted her thoughts and she was suprised to find herself at the top of the stairs.

"Oh. Good night then" she said, a little suprised. He lingered for a few seconds and Elsie was sure he was going to kiss her.

"Good night Elsie" he said and turned away, leaving her feeling both giddy and confused as she made her way to her room.

**I refuse to beg for reviews! Ok I lie, I'm on my knees with my hands held out ;) You guys are awesome reviewers though! I'm particularly fond of the looong ones**


	6. Chapter 6

**Good Grief! It would appear that my spell check completely let me down on this chapter! So I've deleted it and re posted it, hopefully with all the spelling mistakes sorted out. A huge thank you to 'kiswhite' for bringing it to my attention! I suppose this is what happens when one writes in a hurry :( I do hope you can all forgive such a terrible author! **

**For any of you wondering, Elsie's lilac slack suit was based on one of my own, which I'm rather fond of. I've tried to loosely base her outfit today on what she wears in the show. Also to those of you who guessed that the man with the dog was Joe, well done. He was. :)**

Charles Carson was going to die. If he handed her the wrong piece of paper one more time, she was going to strangle him in front of a bunch of lawyers and a judge. She was in a bad enough mood as it was, thanks to that sleaze of a judge eyeing her every move. Now to have Charles falling to pieces and Carlisle smirking was not helping. Where was his head today? Sure they'd drunk a lot of wine last night but certainly not that amount! Richard had finished his argument and Elsie noticed the judge was now falling asleep.

"Your honour, we would like to request an adjournment?" She said and he snapped awake again.

"Good idea Mrs Hughes. We'll continue this tomorrow morning" he said and strode with surprising energy out of the door. She and Charles gathered up their things and headed towards the elevator.

"Where is your head today?" She snapped as soon as the doors shut and she knew they were alone.

"I'm sorry Elsie its just..."

"Its just what Charles? We could lose the case if this continues, which is something I am not prepared to have happen. Bates is innocent, you and I both know that, but Carlisle is good! If you are sick or have personal issues for gods sake withdraw from the case!"

"I'm fine. I didn't sleep well last night that's all" he lied. Truth was he'd slept like a baby

"I told you not to have that coffee. So did Richard" she said unsympathetically as she strode towards the car and climbed in with him hurrying behind her. She was in a bad enough mood to drive off and leave him there without even glancing back.

He was sick. Love sick. He wished to high heaven that Griggs had not insisted she had worn a skirt, it was making it extremely difficult for him to concentrate especially as Griggs was checking out her rear end as soon as she faced the other way or walked back to her seat. Not that he had any right to judge, he was doing the exact same thing when ever she was going the other way. He blamed the heels. Her black pencil skirt and matching fitted jacket with the orange collar wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't paired with a pair of rather high leopard print heels. It took a moderate outfit and made it seem risque'

'Come on Charles! You've managed to keep it together for the last ten years don't stop now!' He told himself. But the problem was he didn't want to keep it together any longer. He felt as though he knew her so much better now and the more he knew the more he fell in love with this amazing woman. He didn't want to be the bachelor anymore, he wanted to marry her and grow old with her and one day be buried next to her. And that was precisely why, before they parted to go to their separate rooms Charles grabbed her round the waist, pulled her towards him and kissed her. She let out a muffled squeak of either surprise or protest (Charles didn't actually care which) before melting and kissing him back hard

"Oh my god" came a woman's voice and the two wrenched away from one another to find a horrified Mary standing in front of them.

"We'll talk later" whispered Elsie before fleeing down the hall.

"Charles, a word in my room please"

"Mary I..."

"Now!"

So Charles meekly followed her to her room.

"How long have you been in love with her?" Mary finally asked after several minutes of awkward silence.

"I'm sorry?" He asked in surprise. This wasn't what he had been expecting at all.

"Oh please Charles don't be obtuse. I've known you my whole life and I know you wouldn't be kissing her unless you were in love with her. So how long?"

He sighed and sat down

"Since the day she walked into my office for the first time" he said

"For the last ten years? And you've never done anything about it until now? Charles! You disappoint me!" Mary exclaimed and he hung his head

"Why didn't you?" She asked after a long pause

"I don't suppose you've ever heard of the friend zone?" He said sarcastically

"I see" she laughed "well then, I won't hold you back. Off you go"

" You're not upset with me then?" He asked as he stood to go

"If I were would that stop you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No." He admitted "although it would make me feel a lot better if I knew it didn't bother you"

"It doesn't bother me. Now go" she assured him with a big grin on her face. Charles Carson in love, she would never have imagined it.

Elsie wasn't going to lie. When she got up that morning she would never have said that in a few hours time that she'd be standing kissing Charles Carson at the top of the stairs in front of her employers daughter. If fact she still wasn't too sure that it did actually happen or if her imagination had just been running riot.

She didn't quite understand why he'd done it. She thought perhaps it was her outfit, but she'd worn a skirt before and even a dress at the firms Christmas party. The only thing that was different was on those occasions she'd worn flats and this time she'd taken Thomas's advise and had 'dressed to kill' as he had put it. Yes, Elsie was going to blame the shoes. Someone was knocking on her door so she got up to open it

'Charles' she thought and was slightly dissappionted to find Anna standing there instead. She'd forgotten she was coming today

"Wow Mrs Hughes, you look amazing! I love your shoes" the young girl said looking at her in amazent. 'Honestly anyone would think I'm usually in grey rags the way everyone has been going on' she thought

"Thank you Anna, glad you could finally make it." Elsie said and stepped back to let her in. "what held you back?"

"I was actually searching for evidence, Mrs Hughes, and I think I've found it."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"I found a witness"

"You've found a what?"

"A witness! Mrs Hughes, are you alright?" Anna asked peering at Elsie as if she expected her to faint away at any moment.

"Yes yes I'm fine. Its just been a confusing day thats all." Elsie explained, flopping into a chair "tell me about this witness though?"

"She can testify that Vera Bates was making the made the pastry after he had left." Anna said sitting daintly in the chair opposite to Elsie

"Anna, you are gold you know that?" Elsie said and Anna grinned "however we need time to prep the witness"  
"All done and dusted Mrs Hughes. All you need to do is show up in court tomorrow and present her." Anna interuppted

Someone was at the soor again and Anna jumped up to get it

"Oh Anna, I was actually looking for Mrs Hughes, but if she's busy I can come back later" came Charles's voice through the door

"Actually we're all done here Mr Carson. By the way, you need that. Mrs Hughes will explain" Anna said as she handed him a file and left

"Whats this about?" Asked Charles as he sat down

"Anna has found us a new witness...I'll explain in full detail later" Elsie told him

"We need to talk." he said

"Indeed we do"

Don't hate me too much for ending it here! I had every intention of including 'The Talk' in this chapter only it would have been too lengthy in my opinion. Also my dad is trying to read over my shoulder so my concentration is shot. Please do not think that this is anywhere near over, I still have a lot planned for our lawyer lovers ;)...And ChelsieGirl, you would be right. We still don't know all of Elsie's past...:P

**While I'm editing this I thought I might ask a favour. I would dearly love to know where your names come from...some are obvious but others really baffle me. So new challenge! When and If you review please tell me how you choose your name :-) and I'll explain mine in the next chapter :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**In case none of you noticed Ch 6 was replaced though nothing has changed I swear. I dedicate this chapter to kiswhite with once again my sincere thanks :) **

"I blame the shoes" Elsie said after a few strained minutes of awkward silence

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, I've worn skirts before and you've never attempted to ravish me on top of the staircase before and nothing else had changed except for the shoes. Unless it was the coffee though to be quite honest I don't see how." She mused, almost to herself

"You're right, it was the shoes" he admitted with a sigh

"So, Mr Charles Carson renound perfectionist and wine know it all has a foot fetish? Heavens" Elsie said raising one eyebrow. Really, she shouldn't tease him like this but he made it extremely easy.

"I most certainly do NOT have a foot fetish!" He huffed and she raised her other eyebrow

"Really? So if you're not a foot man then what are you?" She teased with a glint in her eyes

"A sad old fool" he said sadly and she composed herself

"What makes you say that?" She asked quietly

"Because I attempted to ravish a woman on top of the stairs as you put it!" He exclaimed and shot to his feet

"A woman who I have no right to attempt to ravish! Who I don't deserve to even work with! Especially as the day she changes her outfit I can't stop staring at her, almost making us lose the case which she's been working on for the last six months!"

"Charles do sit down and stop pacing. You're making me positively dizzy." She ordered and to her surprise he sat

"Now, first of all, there is no man on this earth I'd rather work with even if he can't focus because I'm too distracting. WHICH by the way is extremely flattering considering you're one of the most eligible bachelors in this city. Secondly, would it shock you if I told you that I'm rather glad you did attempt to ravish me on the staircase? If I recall correctly I kissed you back and am therefore as much to blame as you are."

"Elsie...are you saying what I think you're saying?" Charles asked slowly, standing up again

"That depends Charles, what do you think I'm saying?"

"I...I think you're saying that my actions were not entirely unwelcome?" He stuttered, fearing what would happen should he be wrong. At very least he'd get a sharp slap...at very worst she'd never speak to him again.

"That is precisely what I'm saying Charles." She said softly with a small smile on her face as she stood as well

"Do you mean it? I understand if you don't. But please don't say it if you don't mean it" he said, hardly daring to believe it

"Oh for heavens sake!" Was all he heard before finding his arms full of a Scottish lawyer who also happened to be kissing him rather ferociously.

"God I love you" he muttered when she finally pulled away

"I'm glad to hear it. I love you too Charles and have done for a very long time."

"Mrs Hughes? There's a lady here to see you called Beryl Patmore." The manager called through the door. Charles groaned and lent his forehead against hers

"I can always pretend I'm ill..."

"No" he said, straightening up (really she was quite short) "she'll probably barge in here and demand to be your nurse or something. Go..I'll see you at dinner."

"Okay" she smiled before reaching up to kiss him one last time.

"...and what's got you so sparkily eyed?" Demanded Beryl as she came down the stairs, not even attempting to hide the grin on her face

"Beryl really its none of your business"scolded Isobel before Elsie could, and grinned at her when they caught each others eye

"Where's daisy?" Elsie asked in an attempt to change the subject

"Oh she and Ivy went to the movies, we gave them the day off"

"So you two decided to come and nag me hmm?"

"No, I actually came to drop something off for Mathew and bumped into Beryl" explained Isobel, as she attempted to shepard her two friends into the dining area

"What on earth is Mathew doing here?" Elsie asked as they sat down at a table

"He's designing Mary's new home for her. Apparently they have the same vision for it so she hired him."

"So Elsie, when do you return home?" Asked Beryl

"Anna found some new evidence which will speed things up a lot, so hopefully before the end of the week...Isobel just what are you chuckling about?"

Isobel glanced up from her phone and went slightly pink.

"Nothing"

"Like hell its nothing!" Said Beryl, snatching the phone before Isobel could react and wrinkling her brow in confusion

"What on earth is this gibberish?"

"It is not gibberish!" Said Isobel in mock outrage "its Latin!"

"Why is Richard texting you in Latin?" Beryl asked, being unusually thick

"Its just something we do, seeming we're both in the medical profession" Isobel patiently explained and Beryl rolled her eyes

"It seems a waste of time to me"

"I think its sweet" intoned Elsie before they could start an argument

"You came down the stairs not 15 minutes ago with a grin on your face and a blush in your cheeks. Dare I say that your opinion is invalid?" Beryl sniped but Elsie was no longer listening. Charles has just walked across the lobby with Thomas and she couldn't help but stare. He carried himself proudly, with an air of distinction. He salt-and-pepper hair had been left natural, giving him a mischievous look and Elsie couldn't help but smile when he winked at her as he left the building.

"Mother?"

"Yes Mathew dear?" Isobel said as they drove home

"Did Mrs Hughes seem alright to you today?" He asked.

"Perfectly, why?"

"Well Mary was telling me she caught her and Mr Carson, well for want of a better word, snogging on top of the stairs" he explained

"What?!" She said, nearly crashing the car as she whipped round to stare at him

"Watch it!" He shouted as he grabbed the dash board "I was only wondering if you knew"

"I didn't" she said. "But thank you for telling me"

She was going to have to phone Beryl

**I hope you enjoyed! Please review and let me know :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**I've done a very tiny time leap here. (Only a few days) where Charles and Elsie have been too busy to do much other than kiss one another goodnight. I swear! ;) Thank you to my guest reviewers...I appreciate your input just as much as the others. **

The hammer came crashing down and just like that John Bates was free. He sighed in relief and slumped into his chair, hand flying to his mouth in shock. He was free at last. Charles grinned at Elsie and winked...it really wouldn't do to kiss her in the middle of court unfortunately. If she'd been wearing those shoes again he might not have been able to resist but ever since the first day she'd stuck to conservative flats. He wasn't sure if he was upset about that or relieved, a bit of both if truth be told. Richard Carlise stormed past them with his secretary in hot pursuit, slamming the door as he went. Elsie shook her head in disgust at his display

"Good job Anna!" Charles told the young girl as they gathered their paperwork and began slotting it back into various compartments in various briefcases

"Yes, thank you Anna. I can never repay you for all that you've done" John Bates said, shaking her hand and making her go a brilliant shade of red and grin with pleasure

"What's the first thing you'll do...now that you're out I mean?" Asked Elsie as they left the court room

"Have a decent cup of tea...then have a very long shower" Mr Bates grinned at her

"I expect that you'll have a lot of catching up to do" she mused

"Damn it!" Growled Charles and they all stopped dead to look at him

"I'm terribly sorry, I've forgotten my phone...I'll have to go back and get it."

"Anna, take Mr Bates and find him a decent cup of tea please. I'll come with you Charles" Elsie directed and together she and Charles walked back.

"Ah, here it is!" Charles said and bent down to pick his phone up. He glanced around to find they were now alone in the room and swiftly bent down to kiss her thoroughly

"Well done my darling" he whispered into her ear making her shiver

"Anna did most of it" she said when he pulled away

"That may be, but you executed it perfectly" he assured her before kissing her again

"Charlie!"

They broke apart to find Griggs standing there with a big smirk on his face

"Mrs Hughes, I'm sure you won't mind giving two old friends some time alone?" He asked, speaking more to her chest than her face

"Not at all. I'll be outside" she told Charles, squeezing his hand gently, before leaving quickly. She sat down on a bench and began re arranging her hand bag (really how on earth did it get into such a mess? Anyone would think she didn't have a home with all the junk she had in here) suddenly a shadow fell across her. She glanced up to see Richard Carlise standing there with his hands in his pockets

"Can I help?" Elsie asked coldly

"I want to offer you a job Mrs Hughes" he said in his usual disparaging tone

"Thank you, but I already have one" she said and went back to her hand bag. He chuckled and handed her an envelope

"It would mean a promotion, as well as a considerable pay increase. All the details of what I'm offering are in here" he explained. She glanced at the envelope in his hand before standing up and crossing her arms in front of her chest

"Mr Carlise, I have no desire to work for you no matter what you're offering. I love where I work and I'll not be leaving it in the near future" she bit out

"Just take it Mrs Hughes" he said, slipping it into her bag. "You might change your mind"

"I highly doubt it" she said but he just grinned and walked away

"What did he want?" Asked Charles from behind her. She turned to find him rather red faced with a large scowl dominating his face

"Nothing important. What did Griggs want?"

Charles huffed before answering

"He wanted to chat about 'the good ole days' and to ask who 'the bird' was, referring, I assume, to you, and whether she was free for the taking"

"Good heavens" Elsie said in horror "I hope you told him no"

"Of course I did" he said before leaning in to whisper in her ear again "after all, I don't like sharing"

"I'm glad to hear it." She grinned and patted his arm "come on, we best go rescue Anna from the hunt of a decent cup of tea. I know there's nothing decent here and I said we'd go and see Beryl this afternoon. I know her tea is always tops."

"Lead the way milady" Charles teased with a grin and handed her her bag.

"Beryl might I have a word?" Asked Isobel, emerging from her office into the kitchen

"Give me a minute...this meringue is almost ready and I don't want to leave it to Ivy" the cook answered, barely glancing up from the oven so Isobel leaned against a counter to wait. A few minutes later Beryl pounced on the oven door and brought out a perfect desert which she proudly placed on a cooling rack

"I honestly don't know how you do that." Isobel sighed

"Do what?" Beryl asked, still beaming at her handiwork

"The timer still has three minutes to go but its perfect now. How do you know?" Isobel asked, shaking her head in amazement.

"Ah...years of practice I suppose" Beryl said, wiping her hands on her apron "what was it you wanted?"

"I actually wanted to know if you've heard from Elsie recently"

"We spoke last night on the phone...said she might pop in later with Charles Carson. Why?" Beryl asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Well that's just it. Mathew told me that Elsie had been snogging the a fore mentioned Charles Carson on top of the stairs on Wednesday." Isobel explained. Beryl dropped her spatula in surprise

"Our Elsie? Snogging someone on top of the stairs? Is he sure?"

"Well I can't see why he would lie. Besides, we both know she's fancied him for ages." Isobel reasoned

"Yes but this is Elsie! We both know she swore never to love a man after-"

"I know...I know." Isobel said, raising her hands in defense "You say she's coming here later?"

Beryl nodded

"Then perhaps we can find out exactly what's going on then" Isobel said determinedly and strode back into her office

'Poor Elsie and Charles Carson. I fear this is going to be a very awkward afternoon for them' thought Beryl 'not that I intend to make it very easy for them either' she added with a smirk

**Turns out I cannot control what Isobel and Beryl come up with. They just go with it. However I'll try and control them in the next chapter as I certainly don't want him suffering of a heart attack over tea. (Though I'm sure Elsie would be very good at bringing him back to life ;) ) please review! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Yes I updated twice in one day, don't look so shocked! ;) they ran away with me! **

"Charles...what exactly are you doing?" Elsie asked as they sat in the back of a cab on the way to Beryl and Isobel's shop.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He mumbled against her neck before kissing it again

"Well I might be mistaken of course, but it would appear that you're trying to ravish me in the back of a cab" she sighed

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do."

"Charles! Think of the poor driver!" She exclaimed, pushing him away. He glanced up to find a rather embarrassed driver doing his best not to look into his rear view mirror.

"I do apologize sir." Charles said and had the grace to look faintly embarrassed.

"Not to worry sir, its hard to behave yourself when you have a beautiful woman on your arm" the driver assured him and flashed a grin at Elsie

"Let's not push it" Muttered Charles, just loud enough that Elsie heard.

"You can have me all to yourself when we get back to the hotel" she promised him

"Yes but I have to behave at Isobel's." He whined, with his best puppy eyes.

"Indeed you shall" she laughed "I don't think I'm ready to subject you to the endless questioning and threats of Beryl and Isobel. Sometimes I think they're the ones who should have gone into law, rather than me. They'd make any suspect long for the quiet of a jail cell"

"Goodness, perhaps we should employ them" he said as they arrived. Charles climbed out and offered his hand to Elsie.

"Charles, you've mucked up my hair" she complained when she caught sight of her reflection in the window. She quickly pulled out all her pins before grabbing a brush out of her bag and pulling it through her long hair. She then chucked both her pins and the brush into her bag

"Ready?" She asked, while he stood and stared.

"Elsie Hughes. That isn't fair!" He growled

"What isn't?" She asked, genuinely confused

"You expect me to keep my hands off you for the next two hours at least, and then you go and let your hair down! I thought the shoes were bad!"

Elsie burst out laughing

"You'll survive" she told him through her chuckles

"Why don't you wear it down more often?" He asked when she calmed down

"Because no one would ever take me seriously" she told him "come on, we better go in before Beryl sends poor Daisy to fetch us" and together they walked through the door

"Oi Isobel! Look who finally decided to come inside and stop nattering on the pavement" Teased Beryl when she caught sight of them

"Perhaps they preferred one another's company instead of ours" answered Isobel, coming out from the back "where's Anna? I thought she was coming as well"

"She is. She and Mr Bates took the car and went back to his place so he could shower and change. They'll be here shortly I'm sure" Elsie explained

"Well sit down both of you, and I'll bring some tea." Ordered Beryl "Charles, nice to see you again. Elsie rushed you out of here so fast last time I feared she thought we might steal you away"

"Nice to see you too Beryl. I look forward to actually getting a cup of coffee this time" he said as he pulled Elsie's chair out for her

"So you want coffee rather than tea?" Beryl asked as she made her way to the kitchen

"Please. Cappuccino if possible" he said as he sat down himself

"You won't be able to sleep again" Elsie told him

"Elsie Hughes, how is it you know whether Charles sleeps or not?" Questioned Isobel with a grin

"Because he TOLD me" Elsie retorted and rolled her eyes "honestly Izzy, get your mind out of the gutter"

"I'm sorry, I can't help it if I think you two would make a cute couple" Isobel defended herself

"ISOBEL!" Shrieked Elsie, slapping the table and turning bright red

"ELSIE!" Isobel mimicked back

"LADIES!" Shouted Beryl coming out of the kitchen with a tray "stop breaking the tables and the glass for that matter" she ordered, setting the tray down with some force and dishing out cups and plates of meringue

"What must Mr Carson think of me?" Isobel said hanging her head in apparent shame

"He spends every day with Elsie...no doubt he's used to it. Though no doubt she's on her best behavior with him...usually" reasoned Beryl. Charles quickly took a sip of coffee to hide his smirk. Elsie had certainly said some very choice remarks over the years, especially when O Brien started dating Lang who was Roberts former PA.

"You have froth round your mouth" observed Isobel as he put his cup down

"I'll get it!" Said Beryl before he could do anything she grabbed a napkin and tenderly wiped it away. Isobel glanced over at Elsie to find her clenching her hands under the table

"Thank you" muttered Charles, the tips of his ears going pink

"Goodness me you have beautiful eyes" Beryl said, staring deeply into them

"Beryl leave him alone!" Snapped Elsie and she backed off. Charles shot her a grateful look which she missed thanks to her glaring at Beryl

"Calm down lass" chided Beryl. She was saved from Elsie's retort by the arrival of Anna and Mr Bates.

"I do apologize for my friends behavior". She said several hours later as they sat together on the settee each with a glass of Sherry. "I have no idea what came over them" they had certainly been impossible and while having Anna and John Bates with them had forced them to tone it down there had still been many awkward moments for them both.

"Its quite alright. I enjoyed myself...although I don't think I'll be having anything frothy for quite awhile" he chuckled slightly as he draped a arm around her shoulders and pulled her close

"Don't say that! I want the opportunity to wipe away froth" she teased lightly, snuggling into his chest. Just then the phone in his room rang and he got up to answer it.

"Hello?...yes she's here...I see...I'll tell her...thank you"

"What was that?" Elsie asked after he put the phone down

"Mathew was just here...you left your bag at the shop and he dropped it off for you. Its at reception" he explained. Elsie groaned and lent back into the couch

"I don't feel like moving" she moaned. He smiled at the sight

"Stay here and I'll get it" he offered and she smiled gratefully at him. He hurried down the stairs and retrieved her bag from a tired receptionist. He was half way back when a piece of paper fluttered to the floor

"Blast!" He muttered and bent to pick it up. He fully intended to put it right back, until he saw the words 'Carlise and Co'. Unfolding it he saw that it appeared to be a job offer, and a very generous one at that. Surely she wasn't planning on accepting? Of switching sides and leaving the firm she'd put years of work into? Of leaving him?

He walked back to room in a bit of a daze

"Oh good you're back" she said brightly when he came through the door. He held up the paper

"Elsie what is this?"

**I really do love reviews...;) ;) **


	10. Chapter 10

Elsie got up from the couch and looked at the paper he was holding up

"Its a job offer from Carlise"

"When did you receive it?" He asked

"This morning after court, while you were talking to Griggs" she explained, attempting to take it from him but he refused to let go "Charles what on earth is the matter?"

"You told me, when I asked what he wanted, that it was nothing." He said with clenched teeth.

"It is nothing!" She insisted, getting more and more bewildered at his reaction

"It most certainly is NOT nothing! I can't believe you could do this Elsie, to even consider it!" He shouted, striding past her and downing the remainder of his drink

"I wasn't considering-"

"Do you know what the most shocking thing is?" He asked

"Charles I swear-"

"The most shocking thing is that even after all the derogatory things you've ever said about that man and his firm, you're prepared to jump ship all for the sake of a larger pay check!" He spoke over her in a bitter tone

"Charles Carson you listen to me!" She finally managed to get a word in edge ways "Carlise gave that this morning! I didn't ask him for it! I cannot believe that you would dare accuse me of leaving for a bigger pay check!" She shouted, snatching up her bag from where he'd dropped it and tucking it under her arm

"Oh so its not because of the money then? Did he also notice the new clothes? Gods I'm such a fool!" He growled before whirling round to face her again "you disappoint me. I never thought of you as a woman with no standards, especially after your past"

"My past?" She said icily "I have worked myself to the bone for this company, you of all people should know that!"

"I wasn't talking about your past in the firm! You'd think that after all you went through in your childhood you wouldn't be so eager so throw everything away!"

"How dare you?" She asked in a dangerously calm voice as she walked towards him "you don't know me. You don't know what I've had go through to get where I am. And then you dare to accuse me of throwing everything away?"

"Perhaps if you'd shared things about you I might understand your thinking. Although I highly doubt it." He said, pulling himself up to his full height and towering over her. Though it wasn't quite high enough as she still managed deliver a stinging slap to his cheek before grabbing the offer and leaving, slamming the door behind her.

"Mrs Hughes are you alright?" Asked Anna as they passed one another in the hall. She shook her head before starting to run towards her room. She fumbled with the lock before finally managing to barge through the door and slam it behind her. She dropped her bag on the floor before collapsing onto the sofa and allowing herself to succumb to the sobs that she'd been fighting during her mad dash.

She woke up a couple of hours later still curled up on the couch, though now shivering with cold. She retrieved the blanket that was draped over a chair and wrapped it around her shoulders then wandered over to her bag which had somehow managed to over turn when she'd dropped it. She knelt down and began picking up all the things that had fallen out, throwing them back into their respective pockets before moving it onto the coffee table. The only thing left on the ground was Carlise's proposal which she left there for the time being. She lit the fire before wandering into her bedroom and changing into her night gown. She then poured herself a whiskey before grabbing the offending piece of paper and sitting down, on floor, next to the fireplace. She re read his proposal while sipping on her drink. He was offering a lot and she could do a lot of things that she'd always do such as travel or spend a lot more time with Daisy and Beryl or go and visit her sister. But she could never work for a man like that, who was condescending and manipulative, who had no honor or integrity and would never see her as a person the same way the Crawley's did. So she grabbed a pair of tongs and held the paper into the flames where it slowly disintegrated.

'A bit like my relationship' she thought bitterly. She had sworn she would never love another man after Jack had died and like a fool she'd gone back on her word. Now she was paying for it, with her heart broken into two once again all because she had dared to put all her trust in one person. If there was one thing life had taught her was to never trust anyone but herself yet she'd made the same mistake yet again because apparently she never learned. She sighed and pulled her briefcase towards her, there was no way she was going to get any sleep tonight so she might as well do something useful.

This was how Anna found her the next morning when she brought in a cup of coffee

"Mrs Hughes! Have you been there all night?" The girl exclaimed when she caught sight of Elsie curled up next to a now dying fire surrounded by files. Elsie looked up from her paperwork

"Couldn't sleep." She said by way of an explanation.

"Good heavens!" The young woman said before ordering her into bed and putting a 'do not disturb' sign on the door

Charles' head hurt. He supposed it was to be expected when one drank a bottle of whiskey all on ones own. He just wanted to dull the pain but now he had a headache as well as a heart ache. He'd been so afraid of losing her and now all he'd done was give her another reason to go. Why did he have to shout at her? Why didn't he listen to her reasoning? His cheek still stung from where she'd slapped him. Thinking back, he realized he'd deserved it in every way. What the bloody hell had he been thinking bringing up her past? It was the lowest of low blows yet he'd dished it out with out hesitation.

"She must hate me" he said aloud. She should hate him. God knows he despised himself for every word that had left his mouth last night. He'd turned back into the man he'd been when he and Griggs had been pals...a man he'd sworn he'd never become again. A jealous self righteous more-holier-than-thou kind of man. He'd pushed Alice away like that, straight into the arms of Griggs and now he'd pushed Elsie into the clutches of Carlise. He'd hurt the woman who he loved with every fiber of his being by becoming the person he feared becoming the most.

"Mr Carson, I've brought your tea" called Thomas from the sitting room area and each word felt like a brick landing on his head. Thomas heard a vague groan in response and glanced towards the coffee table to find the decanter of whiskey nearly empty. He put a bottle of aspirins next to the cup before leaving as quietly as possible.

***ducks deadly things that are probably being thrown at me* forgive me I beg! Chelsie Dagger kinda inspired Elsie here as she said earlier that people who persevere don't dwell on things and I've tried to capture that. I've also attempted to give Charles a reason for being that nasty as he'd never be that bad without good reason. Please please review! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you all for your reviews! I'm shocked that I'm still alive! **

Elsie woke up at around noon and immediately stiffened. She could sense she wasn't alone in the room. She sat up to discover Isobel sitting in a chair reading through one of Elsie's many files

"You do know that's supposed to be confidential right?". Isobel jumped slightly at hearing her voice before breaking into a large grin

"Oh good you're awake! How are you feeling?"

"I stayed up all night that's all. I'm not dying." Elsie grumbled "what are you doing here?"

"Anna called me. She said that you were extremely upset last night and she was worried about you" Isobel explained

"I was not upset last night!" Elsie denied as she thumped her pillow into a more comfortable shape

"Elsie, there's a glass of whiskey next to your fire place." Isobel said, peering over her reading glasses

"Yes and?"

"We both know you only drink that vile stuff when you're upset"

"Its not vile" Elsie mumbled

"Says she who once poured a whole bottle of the stuff down the sink when it was given to you as a birthday present." Isobel rolled her eyes while she climbed onto the bed and wrapped her arm around Elsie "come on now, what happened?"

"Oh Isobel" Elsie said before bursting into tears on her friends shoulder "Charles and I had the most awful argument"

"Shhhhhhhh" Isobel soothed as she rubbed circles on her friends back "tell me what happened?"

"There's been a terrible misunderstanding!" Isobel exclaimed after Elsie had finished her tale

"You don't say" Elsie replied sarcastically

"What are you going to do? This has got to be corrected!" Isobel said, standing up in agitation

"There's nothing I can do. He hates me Izzy! He despises my past...my whole existence! God I am such an idiot!" Elsie ranted, swinging her legs off the bed and starting to pace the room

"Els I'm sure if you just explained-"

"No. Its done Izzy. I was a fool to believe that we could ever live happily ever after. Not with all my baggage." Elsie sighed sadly

"So you're just going to let him walk away from you?" Isobel asked incredulous

"Yes. That is exactly what I'm going to do."

"But Elsie you love him! You can't just give up!"

"I loved Joe once" Elsie whispered as she sat on the bed "and I fought for him. Tell me Izzy do you remember how well that turned out?"

"But this is different!" Isobel insisted

"No it isn't!" Elsie shouted "its exactly the same just at a later date! I was stupid to let myself love again."

"Oh Elsie..." Isobel whispered and came and sat next to her

"Please leave Izzy." Elsie said quietly "I appreciate you trying to help but I don't want to snap at you today. I couldn't bear it if I lost you too"

"Of course." Isobel said and stood up. "Call me when you need me"

Elsie nodded as she shut the door behind her friend before sinking down and turning on the television

As Isobel descended down the stairs she caught sight of Mary Crawley coming through the door

"Mary! Do you have a minute?" She called, nearly breaking her ankle as she ran down the stairs

"I do" the young girl confirmed when Isobel reached her "though only a few I'm afraid, I'm supposed to be meeting Aunt Rosamund for tea"

"I'll walk and talk then. Am I correct in saying Charles Carson is your god father?"

"You are"

"And are you capable of talking sense into him?"

"It depends what sort of sense. Once he's set his mind on something he's rather difficult to talk out of it. He's almost as stubborn as granny" Mary smiled. Everyone knew that once Violet Crawley set her sights on something there was no stopping her and that was probably why the business was now one of the oldest in town.

"The thing is he gravely misunderstood something and I fear two hearts will suffer for it" explained Isobel as Mary unlocked her room door

"Goodness, surely it can't be as bad as all that?" Mary asked turning round in surprise

"I'm afraid it is." Isobel said and went on to share what Elsie had told her, leaving out the bit about Elsie's past

"Oh for heavens sake!" Exclaimed Mary "why on earth didn't he let her explain?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. The question is, do you think you can bring him round?" Asked Isobel

"I can certainly try, though I make no promises. How could he be so stupid? I mean Mrs Hughes and I may not get on but even a blind man can see they love one another."

"I agree. Well, I'll let you get on with your day then but if you can make him see reason for heavens sake do!" Said Isobel causing Mary to laugh.

"We need to talk" said Mary, pushing past Charles as he opened the door and striding into the middle of the room

"By all means do come in" he muttered as he shut the door and Mary shot him a look that would freeze boiling water. He sighed and rubbed his head which was still pounding slightly

"Alright, what?"

"Mrs Hughes." Mary said, crossing her arms in front of her

"What about her?"

"What...what about her? Are you serious?" Mary exclaimed "Charles Carson you've gone and broken her heart for no good reason at all! As well as your own!"

Charles sighed again and sat down with a groan

"Don't shout." He whimpered "you know as well as I do that I cannot stand disloyalty and yes, perhaps I shouldn't have shouted at her but we both know I can't date someone who will quite willingly switch sides without a second thought!"

"I'm assuming you're referring to her job offer from Carlise?" Mary asked and he nodded "she was never going to take it you know. Carlise was trying to steal her away when he gave her the offer and she turned him down before even opening it"

"But-"

"Don't but me, I know for a fact that its true. Really Charles, you didn't think she'd leave you did you?" She said briskly

"I really wouldn't know." He half whispered, reality seeming to dawn on him. "Would she?"

"Of course she wouldn't!" Mary said loudly, causing him to wince "she loves you!"

"Just when did you become Mrs Hughes' champion?" He asked sullenly though with a tiny smirk

"I confess we haven't been the best of friends-"

"Understatement of the year"

"But I cannot stand to see both of you with broken hearts" Mary continued oblivious of his interruption. She stood up and walked to the door

"Now I really must be going, I'm going out with Mathew tonight and I'm already running late. I trust you'll have fixed this mess by Monday? She asked glancing back over her shoulder. He nodded and she left.

Charles took another aspirin before finding his phone. He opted to text her, that way she wouldn't have to answer him if she didn't want to

'We need to talk.'

She answered almost immediately

'Do we really?'

'Are you free tomorrow night?'

'No. I'm meeting Richard Carlise to discuss my office and then we're going back to his place so he can bang me into his head board all night long'

Charles nearly dropped his phone. Surely she wasn't serious?! 'She loves you!' He heard Mary say in his head

'Don't be childish' he replied, a little miffed that she thought this was a joking matter

'Pot calling the kettle black'

'Please?'

'Fine.'

'Fine?'

'Fine I'll stop being childish and meet you. Where and what time?'

'The Unicorn? 6?'

'K'

Her reception was a little colder than usual but at least she hadn't totally ignored him. Charles could hardly wait until the next day...he was going to win her back, come hell or high water.

**I don't know about you guys, but in my circle of friends if you respond 'K' its one of the highest insults. Please please review! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you so much for all your reviews! Many of you seemed to enjoy Elsie's texting skills ;) this chapter is a bit sad and those of you who like Joe...please don't hate me! **

Elsie walked through the Unicorn's door at exactly five to six only to find Charles already waiting for her at a table. She hesitated slightly before making her way over to him.

"Charles." She greeted icily, dumping her bag on the table and sitting down.

"Elsie, you came. I wasn't sure you would" he said smiling slightly before calling over a waiter "What will it be?" The young man asked as he whipped out his notebook

"A glass of red wine please" Elsie said, handing the drinks menu to him and pointing out which one she wanted

"A glass of lemonade please" said Charles. Elsie raised one eyebrow, Charles was a wine fanatic and never turned down the opportunity to try something new.

"I've sworn off alcohol for a while" he explained seeing her confused look.

"I see. Well I'm here, what did you want?" She asked, getting straight to the point

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior the other night." He said, looking at her with a heart broken expression "I know you would never leave the company with out a very good reason and I should never accused you of wanting to without hearing your side first." She nodded and relaxed ever so slightly

"That's not why I'm mad at you." She said softly, biting her lip and not meeting his eyes

"The comment about your past" he said, dropping his head in shame and she nodded. The waiter arrived with their drinks and they both straightened up in their seats until he left

"I don't think I will ever be able to apologize enough for that" Charles finally said, reaching to take her hand which she moved out of reach. "That was the worst thing I could possibly have said and I will hate myself every day for the rest of my life for it."

"How did you know about it?" Elsie asked and took rather a large sip of wine

"Beryl told me. I went to see her when you went shopping and she told me about your childhood...I am so so sorry Elsie"

"Don't be." She snapped as she glared at her wine glass as though it had offended her "I bet she didn't tell you everything." She added, finally shifting her gaze to look at him

"There's more?" He asked.

"Typical." She laughed without humor "Beryl always leaves out the last chapter when she gets half a chance"

Charles sat back and steepled his fingers

"Will you tell me? He asked softly. She sighed and lent on the table with her eyes closed before she began

"As you know, Gail, Jack and I spent most of our teenage lives in various foster homes. About a year after I got into law school I met up with Joe again and he begged for a second chance so we started dating again. He was studying to become a vet and our apartments weren't far from one another so we spent most of our weekends together. Those were the happiest couple of months I'd ever known. I was getting good marks at school, I had good friends round me the whole time and I had a wonderful boyfriend who for the first time in my life made me feel safe. It was as though nothing could ever burst this bubble of happiness. We hadn't heard from my father ever since he was carted away by the police at Beryl's bakery and eventually we stopped expecting him to turn up. Beryl had by this time married Jack and they were running the bakery together while Gail was in Ireland, training to become a nurse. When Daisy was about a year old my father contacted us all, wanting to see us and apologize. I ignored it. I was happy and didn't want to go back to the past but Jack felt sorry for him and replied. They corresponded for about a year and he begged to see us all. Jack eventually convinced me to meet him and we all met at his home with the exception of Gail who couldn't, or rather, wouldn't come over. Things started to go wrong the second he walked through the door. I could tell that he'd been drinking, his eyes were blood shot and he seemed extremely jumpy. He shouted at Daisy when she started to cry and he made endless remarks about not being invited to his sons wedding and about Beryl. Eventually Jack snapped and asked him to leave and he left. We all breathed a sigh of relief and Daisy finally stopped crying. The weather took a depressing turn and Beryl and I were having a chick flick marathon so I ended up staying the night. It was around one a clock in the morning when we suddenly heard glass shattering. We jerked awake from where we'd fallen asleep on the couch and Jack came skidding into the room. My father had broken into the office and came staggering out into the living room screaming and shouting about how his own son had landed him in jail for two years and had married the first girl that came along. He went on to say the most dreadful things about both Beryl and I. It didn't help that Jack had always had a bit of a temper and eventually he started shouting back about what a horrible parent my father had been and that he didn't deserve to know any of us. They went on and on back and forth until..."

Elsie stopped and buried her face in her hands

"If you don't want to continue its okay" Charles said softly

"No. I've started I must finish" Elsie said straightening up again but wrapping her arms around herself she took a deep breath and continued

"Suddenly there was a shot and Jack collapsed. My father realized what he had done and dropped the gun before quite calmly sitting down. Beryl was screaming and Daisy had woken up and was calling for her 'mama'. The neighbors had heard the commotion and called the police who arrested him. Jack was rushed to the hospital and went into emergency surgery but it was too late and he died under anesthetic" Elsie finished before bursting into tears. Charles hurried round the table and pulled her into his arms, allowing her to sob onto his shoulder. People in the restaurant were starting to stare but Charles was slightly surprised to find he couldn't care less

"I'm so sorry" Elsie said once she had regained her composure "I've mucked up your jacket"

"Don't worry about that." Charles said, his arms still round her. She pulled away from him but continued to hold tightly onto his hand

"It came out in the papers three days later that Jack had been killed and my father had been arrested. Beryl was inconsolable and Daisy didn't have a clue why her mother couldn't stop crying. Eventually a old lady from down the road took Daisy and looked after her for about a month until Beryl was capable off doing it again. I returned to Law School and to Joe only to find that he wanted nothing to do with me.

'How can I love a murderers daughter?' Were his only words to me. If I phoned, he'd ignore the call, if I texted he'd delete the message. Eventually one day I went round to his place only to have some blonde bimbo open the door. That was the first time I nearly failed in school...if it wasn't for Isobel talking sense into me I probably wouldn't be where I am today." She sighed, before giving his hand a slight squeeze and offering a weak smile.

"Is that why you call yourself Mrs?" He asked softly, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb "because you didn't want anyone to be interested?"

She nodded briefly "you were the first man I've allowed myself to love since" she said shyly

"...and I went and behaved like that." He said bitterly "oh gods Elsie can you ever forgive me?"

"Shush Charles." She said, walking round to his side of the table "I already have." She whispered as she hugged him.

**Please review and let me know what you think! My best friend hates me cause I apparently made her cry...but she has a cold so that's not much to go by. ;) **


	13. Chapter 13

**A bit of a short chapter I'm afraid...I didn't want to drop another bomb on them just yet. Soon we'll be returning to Yorkshire though. I've tried to do something different here so I hope its okay. **

"Would you like to order something to eat?" The waiter asked as Elsie sat back in her own chair, still wiping away tears

"Would you?" Charles asked her, not even sparing a glance towards the poor waiter, who had by now noticed her tears and was looking rather uncomfortable. She nodded and he disappeared as fast as possible to retrieve a couple of menus. Charles reached for her hand again and this time she didn't withdraw it

"What happened to your father?" He asked gently, squeezing her hand

"He was convicted and last I heard he was in a jail in Leeds" she said "he wanted to attend Jack's funeral but Beryl said no thank god"

"And Joe?" He asked softly

"We haven't spoken since Jack died, but Isobel told me he got his qualifications as a vet and married his secretary. He went back to Scotland."

The waiter popped up again with their menu's and they both lapsed into silence as they pondered over them

"I'll have the Beef Wellington please" Elsie finally decided

"The same please" Charles decided

"By the way, did you get the email from Mr Crawley about the new client he wants us to take on?" Elsie asked, a lot more relaxed now than when she'd first arrived

"I did." Charles confirmed "it seems a simple divorce, shouldn't take us too long"

"I'm not so sure. She's suing him for everything he's got, which happens to be quite a lot. Plus they've been married for years" she mused

"How do you know all that?" Charles asked in astonishment

"You didn't open the second attachment did you?" She smirked

"My laptop battery died." He said straightening his spine and trying to look dignified causing her to burst out laughing

"Sure" she said as their food arrived and the waiter looked relieved that she had cheered up

"I think I frightened him." She commented after he had left.

"You could never frighten anyone" Charles assured her and she shot him her best glare

"I take that back" he muttered meekly.

"Would you like to dance?" Charles asked after the waiter cleared their plates away

"I beg your pardon?" She said, looking slightly confused.

"I said 'would you like to dance?'" He repeated, inclining his head towards a few couples who had developed a make shift dance floor

"Oh" she said, colouring slightly "um I have two left feet when it comes to dancing"

"I doubt you can do much damage on an improvised dance floor" he said getting up and holding out his hand

"Oh alright" she huffed good naturedly, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her towards the dance floor and pull her into his arms

**What would I do without your smart mouth?**

**Drawing me in, and you kicking me out**

**You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down**

**What's going on in that beautiful mind**

**I'm on your magical mystery ride**

**And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright**

"Rather fitting don't you think?" Charles whispered in her ear as they swayed. She chuckled slightly but didn't reply

**My head's under water**

**But I'm breathing fine**

**You're crazy and I'm out of my mind**

"That bits certainly true" she said, smiling up at him

**'Cause all of me**

**Loves all of you**

**Love your curves and all your edges**

**All your perfect imperfections**

**Give your all to me**

**I'll give my all to you**

**You're my end and my beginning**

**Even when I lose I'm winning**

**'Cause I give you all of me**

**And you give me all of you, oh**

'Has the DJ been listening in on our conversation?' Charles wondered

**How many times do I have to tell you**

**Even when you're crying you're beautiful too**

**The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood**

**You're my downfall, you're my muse**

**My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues**

**I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you**

"Yes, he definitely has" Charles decided

**My head's under water**

**But I'm breathing fine**

**You're crazy and I'm out of my mind**

**'Cause all of me**

**Loves all of you**

**Love your curves and all your edges**

**All your perfect imperfections**

**Give your all to me**

**I'll give my all to you**

**You're my end and my beginning**

**Even when I lose I'm winning**

**'Cause I give you all of me**

**And you give me all of you, oh**

**Give me all of you**

**Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts**

**Risking it all, though it's hard**

**'Cause all of me**

**Loves all of you**

**Love your curves and all your edges**

**All your perfect imperfections**

**Give your all to me**

**I'll give my all to you**

**You're my end and my beginning**

**Even when I lose I'm winning**

**'Cause I give you all of me**

**And you give me all of you**

Charles looked down to see Elsie in tears again, despite her trying to hide them

"Oh Els...I didn't mean to make you cry love" he whispered and tightened his grip on her

"You didn't. The song did. Besides, they're not bad tears" she said, looking up at him

"Aren't all tears bad?" He asked and she shook her head with a small smile

"These are...sweet tears I guess" she said, wiping them away

"You're amazing" he said, before tilting her head up and kissing her.

**For those who don't know the song was John Legends 'All of Me'. Please review and let me know your thoughts! Shout out to my parabatai who is on chapter four at the moment, for helping with the food (I was threatening to do fish and chips) but she convinced me not to **


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you all for your continued support in this fic...your reviews make my day! **

Elsie was bored. They'd had a horrible trip back to Yorkshire. First of all it had been pouring with rain when they'd left so by the time she got onto the train she was more than a little damp. The train had been late as well as over crowded so Charles had to stand most of the way and Thomas ended up spilling a cup of tea all over Anna's lap, so she was forced to send her home to change instead of having her accompany them back to the office. The only bright thing about the journey was that O Brien had opted to travel with Cora Crawley on a later train rather than go ahead with them. Now she was stuck in a lengthy meeting with Robert before she even had time to drop her bags off at home or grab a cup of tea. He had asked them to give him a blow by blow commentary three times now and Charles was half way through it again

"He really stormed out?" Robert asked in delight and Charles nodded "how marvelous!"

Elsie struggled not to roll her eyes, she wanted to go home and take a shower not listen to another recount.

"How on earth did Anna find a new witness so fast?" He asked again

"I have absolutely no idea sir, though I'm very glad she did." Charles said, leaning back in his chair. He could tell Elsie had stopped listening by the far away look in her eyes. She was fiddling with her bracelet while chewing on her lip in that adorable way she had. He hoped she was thinking happy thoughts, she deserved to after everything that had happened in the past.

"Mrs Hughes? Mrs Hughes?" Robert said eventually waving a hand in front of her face. She jerked up right

"I'm terribly sorry sir, I was lost in thought. Would you mind repeating that?"

"I asked if he really tried to get you to leave?"

"Yes sir" she confirmed

"..and you never thought of taking him up on his offer?" He asked seriously

"Never sir" she said, looking him straight in the eye.

"Glad to hear it Mrs Hughes" he said and she smiled and nodded

"Well I best be getting on." Robert said standing up and shaking their hands "No doubt my wife will have bought a ton of stuff in London and I best go see how much debt I'm in"

"He's not serious is he?" Elsie asked after he had left

"I hope not." Charles said, frowning slightly at the door before returning his gaze to her "Elsie love, you look exhausted."

"Thank you very much!" She said indignantly, pretending to throw her file at him

"Go home, unpack, have a nap. We're technically not due back in the office till tomorrow morning and it'll do you good to put your feet up for a bit. After all, it has been a stressful week" he said, walking round the table and wrapping his arms round her

"You're probably right" she sighed, and wrapped her arms around his neck as she stood on tip toe to kiss him

"Oh for heavens sake, do stop canoodiling in the board room" Mary said with a smirk as she strode in. Elsie jumped away from him but Charles tightened his grip around her waist so she couldn't go too far

"Mary what are you doing here?" He asked

"I actually came to pick something up for Edith, but while you're here Mrs Hughes, Mrs Clarkson would like me to tell you that she's coming down with Mathew next week and wonders if she might stay with you." Mary said with a faint smile on her face. Charles wondered if he ought to start paying a lot more attention to this Mathew but decided Elsie would probably kill him if he started being over bearing towards her best friends son.

"Thank you, I'll give her a call when I get home" Elsie smiled "is Richard coming up as well?"

"I'm not sure, Mathew only mentioned his mother I'm afraid" Mary answered

Yes, Charles was definitely going to be looking into Mathew a lot more from now on.

"Why is Mathew coming down?" He asked in what he hoped was an innocent tone

"Something about the plans for my home" Mary said dismissively "and Mrs Hughes, Charles is right. You do look exhausted."

"Alright alright! I'm going!" Elsie huffed and Charles offered to walk her to her car

"Well...I'll see you tomorrow then." Elsie said as she stood in the open door of her car

"I can hardly wait" Charles grinned and kissed her rather soundly "now off with you...before Mary catches us again."

Elsie laughed and drove off with a wave

Once she got home she put on one of her favorite CDs before going to have a long bath. Charles was right, it most certainly was a roller coaster of a week. But to be honest she regretted none of it...well maybe she should have slapped Richard Carlise when he gave her the job offer but in the end it had forced her to open up to Charles and take a chance. She couldn't believe just how different he and Joe were. While Joe had despised her for her past, Charles seemed to love her all the more for it and made her feel cherished. It had been a great learning curve for her and she felt as though she could tackle the world as long as she had him by her side. She'd gained a friend who she never had to hide anything from as well as a lover. Because she did love him. Whole heartedly, with out any reservations.

"You know a nap doesn't sound like half a bad idea" she said aloud before curling up on her bed and dreaming of the love of her life.

She woke up an hour later to her phone going crazy. She groaned as she rolled over and grabbed it off her bedside table

"Hello?"

"Mrs Hughes?" She heard Anna say on the other end

"Who else would it be?" Elsie asked teasingly "what's the matter Anna?"

"The new client...the one that's getting a divorce?"

"Yes?"

"Well he's just pitched up and he's insisting that he meet both you and Mr Carson at once. William and I have been trying to get him to leave and come back tomorrow but he won't budge out of the boardroom" Anna said, getting slightly hysterical. She hated letting Mrs Hughes down

"Anna calm down" ordered Mrs Hughes "you've done a wonderful job both of you. At least he isn't in our offices. I'll be down there as fast as possible. By the way, why are you there?"

"Oh I wanted to make sure everything was in order for tomorrow" explained Anna hurriedly.

Elsie sighed, sometimes that girl was too efficient for her own good.

"Anna that really wasn't necessary, but thank you. I'm on my way." She said and disconnected the call. She quickly changed into something more suitable for work that jeans and a t-shirt and dragged a brush through her still damp hair before throwing it into a clip and grabbing her keys

"Have you seen him yet?" She asked Charles as she rushed into the office.

"Not yet, I've only just arrived. You're looking better." He observed

"Thank you Doctor...I believe I'm ready to come off my meds now" she sniped as she grabbed a sheaf of paperwork off Anna

Charles chuckled before pulling out his phone to text instructions to Thomas

"Are you ready?" She asked and he nodded, not glancing up from his phone. She sighed and marched towards the board you, swinging open the door as she went. She then stopped dead in the doorway, causing Charles to crash into her with a grunt

"Elsie what-"

"Elizabeth Hughes! What a lovely surprise! You're looking lovely" the man in the board room said, opening his arms wide, as if expecting a hug. Elsie stood frozen, like a deer caught in the head lights.

"Aw come on..you can give an old pal a hug right?" The man said

"We were a great deal more than pals if you remember correctly" she finally said in an icy tone before turning and pushing past Charles, knocking his files to the ground.

"Sorry, but who are you?" Charles asked, ignoring the files on the floor and choosing instead to tower over the man.

The man glanced up at him and held his hand out

"Joe Burns"

**Mwahahahahahahahahahaha! **


	15. Chapter 15

Charles glanced down at the mans out stretched hand and ignored it. Joe seemed to get the message and dropped it rather awkwardly

"...and you are?" He asked

"Charles Carson" Charles replied coldly, still ignoring the files on the floor and never removing his gaze from the man in front of him.

"Well...I actually want to have a chat with Elizabeth...catch up you know?" The man said, trying to push past Charles towards the door

"Excuse me" he muttered as he brushed past. Charles reached out and grabbed his arm, hauling him backwards

"What the hell?" Joe exclaimed as he stumbled over his own feet

"Don't you DARE go near her." Charles growled menacingly

"I beg your pardon?" Joe asked clearly affronted, snatching his arm away from Charles grip and glaring up at him

"You heard me." He snapped, pushing the man towards a chair and turning to leave, slamming the door behind him.

"Anna, do me a favor and retrieve those files for me. Thomas make sure that man stays there, unless he wants to leave. In that case escort him to his car." Charles barked as he strode past. Anna and Thomas exchanged glances but wisely decided not to comment. Once charles was angry it was very easy to make worse. Especially when it came to Elsie and judging by her reaction not ten minutes ago the odds were very likely that it was.

Charles strode into her office to find her gazing out of the window, taking deep breaths to calm herself

"Elsie?" He said softly and she turned to face him

"I'm sorry I ran out Charles, I guess I just got a shock." She said quietly. Charles was surprised to find that while she looked upset, her eyes were dry and her gaze was clear. He stepped up to her and pulled her into his arms

"Its quite understandable. I'll ask him to leave." He murmured into her hair

"No!" She exclaimed jerking backwards out of his grasp. "He doesn't get to win! I'll not disappoint Mr Crawley because of some...some.."

"I think the word you're looking for there is arsehole" Charles supplied.

"Yes that. I am a professional!" She said determinedly, slamming her fist onto her desk.

"Ok ok." Charles soothed, grabbing her fist and holding it "but you must promise me that if he says anything or does anything that upsets you you'll let me know?"

She sighed and glared at him but all he did was raise an eyebrow.

"Fine. I promise." She finally relented

"Good" Charles smiled. "Now, sit down while I make you a cup of tea"

"Charles the client-" she started to protest

"Can bloody well wait."

Meanwhile, Anna and Thomas had made the visitor a cup of tea and had sat him down in the boardroom. He had been muttering to himself when they first walked in

"Outrageous...so rude...should sue"

"Everything alright sir?" Asked Thomas with a smirk as he strode in clutching a tea tray

"Where have my lawyers gone?" He demanded

"I'm afraid you've appear to have annoyed Mr Carson some how. It might be best if he's allowed to calm down for a awhile." Thomas advised as he set the tray down "now, shall I be mother?"

"Excuse me?" Joe asked incredulously (and Anna stifled a laugh while she was picking up files)

"Tea sir, how do you take your tea?" Thomas asked impatiently as Anna balanced the files on the desk at sat down opposite to him.

"Black." Joe said "and no sugar either"

"Wouldn't that be rather bitter sir?" Anna asked with a sweet smile

"Anna, if the man wants bitter he can have bitter" admonished Thomas, raising an eyebrow at her as he handed Joe his tea "so Mr Burns, how do you know our Mrs Hughes?"

"I knew her in our teens, we lived near one another." Explained Joe, looking at him nervously

"Its just that I would have thought judging by her reaction that you'd been something more." Intoned Anna, innocently taking a sip of tea

"We had a fling, it was nothing serious." Joe said dismissively waving his hand as though shooing off a bothersome fly. Thomas leaned closer to him while a muscle in Anna's jaw clenched. She knew Mrs Hughes would not have reacted like she did because of a 'fling'. She was a strong woman who never let anything little get to her. This man had hurt her and he had hurt her badly.

"A fling you say?" She forced herself to ask in a neutral tone and he inclined his head

"You have such beautiful eyes Mr Burns" said Thomas softly. Joe launched his chair backwards in shock

"What on earth are you implying?" He all but shouted, stumbling backwards in shock for the second time in an hour

Thomas stood up and walked slowly towards the slightly shorter man

"I'm implying that if you hurt Mrs Hughes in anyway, I will get one of my many friends that I've made over the years to removed them for you. Then I will put them in a box and keep them on my mantel piece. Do I make myself clear?" Thomas threatened but before Joe could reply Charles Carson walked in

"What is going on here?" He asked suspiciously

"I was clearing the tea tray sir" Thomas explained innocently "and Anna was organizing the files like you asked her to"

"I see." Charles said "very well, Thomas get rid of the tray and then come right back please. Mr Crawley wants both you and Anna to sit in on this case

"Hey now listen hear" interrupted Joe "I don't want them practicing on my divorce!"

Charles closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if he was battling with his patience

"Mr Burns, they will not be practicing as you put it just listening in. However it might interest you to know that we recently won a murder trial thanks to Miss Smith here practicing." He said as politely as possible but still managing to have an edge to his voice. Joe sat down and glared out the window while Thomas picked up the tray and smirked as he left. He breezed in a few minutes later with Elsie in tow. Charles glanced at her, she seemed stressed but in total control of the situation. Sometimes he really had to admire that woman's strength. She sat down next to him and gently nudged his knee with his own

"I do apologize for my behavior earlier, Mr Burns. Are we ready to start?" She said in a clear voice

"It really was no way to treat an old friend." Grumbled Joe. Charles felt Elsie tense up next to him

"From what I've heard Mr Burns you are more than old friends." Charles said quietly, not looking up from his paperwork "now, it says here you're opposing the sale of your holiday home?"

"I don't see that its any of your business" spat Joe

"Your holiday home?" Asked Charles, pretending not to understand as he looked up "sir, as your lawyer I think I have every right to know about your holiday home."

"Not the home!" Joe growled in frustration "my relationship with Elizabeth."

Suddenly realization seemed to dawn on him

"Oh I see. She's after you now isn't she?" He smirked "what a pathetic little slut."

It was at that moment that Charles felt something snap inside him. Elsie had gone a very pale shade of white while Thomas and Anna were gaping at the man who was now leaning back in his chair shaking his head and still smirking. The next thing Charles knew was his fist had connected with Joe Burns's nose and blood was gushing out of it

"Don't you ever, speak about her like that again in my presence" he said calmly "else you'll find yourself with a great deal more broken than a nose."

There was dead silnce after that and no one moved a muscle until finally Thomas spoke

"Good job Mr Carson!"

**When a woman loves a man he becomes her strength. **

**When a man loves a woman she becomes his weakness. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Goodness me you lot are a violent bunch ;) thank you so much for the reviews! I seriously enjoyed them a lot!**

Elsie was in a state of shock. She still couldn't believe Charles had actually broken his nose. As well as knocked a tooth out of Joe Burns head. Naturally, there had been a great big commotion afterwards, with Joe insisting on being driven to the hospital (Thomas had gallantly volunteered and had driven out of the parking lot with a loud screech, talking animatedly the whole time.) Anna had then phoned Robert Crawley who informed them that he'd be there in half an hour and no one was to leave the office until he got there while Elsie had dragged Charles into her office and had attempted to clean the cuts on his hand, which was now swelling rapidly. He hissed when she dabbed some ointment onto them

"I'm sorry" she said sadly

"Don't be. It was worth it." He assured her with a small smile

"No, I'm sorry that you had to do that. I should've let you ask him to leave"

"Elsie love, you were right" Charles said cradling her cheek with his good hand "he doesn't get to win." He gently kissed the top of her head. At that point Mary had strode in demanding to know what had happened.

"I'll get you some ice" Elsie offered, while Charles launched into the tale

"Good Lord Charles, you actually socked him one?" Mary gasped with wide eyes once he had explained.

"He was brilliant!" Called Anna from her desk "though I doubt that'll be the last we hear from him"

"I think Thomas might have given him a heart attack on the way to the hospital. He seemed to be driving rather recklessly when he left." Elsie said with a small smile, now back at his knee, holding ice onto his hand

"Carson? Anna explained what happened." Robert Crawley said as he marched in

'Really my office has become a railway station' Elsie thought

"I just got off the phone with Thomas, the hospital says he's fine and they've sent him home but he is threatening to sue." Robert said

"What? Why?" Exclaimed Mary

"Injured pride I suppose." He shrugged "Luckily both Thomas and Anna were there so we can claim it was aggravated." Robert explained. "For now, I want everyone to go home. Its going to be a hectic day tomorrow." And just like that they'd all be bundled into their cars and sent on their way. She hadn't even had the chance to talk to Charles properly. She felt horrible. He'd done that for her and she hadn't even spoken to him properly. What kind of a person was she? And why why why did Joe have to appear just as her life was starting to look up? Was the universe really that cruel? Though she had to admit, she was never going to forget the look on both Charles and Joe's face after he'd punched him. If she wasn't quite so shocked she might have jumped up and kissed him right then and there, in front of Anna, in front of Thomas and in front of a very bloody Joe. She should have. She hoped his nose wasn't hurting too badly. No, scratch that. She hoped it hurt like hell. But she worried about Charles's hand. As Robert was herding her out the door she'd heard Mary insist that he go for x rays. He had after all, packed quite a wallop.

"I'll go mad if I stay here" she said to herself as she looked around her home. Ten minutes later the door was slamming shut behind her.

Charles gingerly flexed his hand. It hurt quite a bit but according to the doctor he hadn't broken anything, much to his relief. He was worried about Elsie though. It must have been one hell of a shock to walk into the board room to find him sitting there. And then to have him act as though nothing had happened? How dare he! How dare he call her what he did? As far as Charles was concerned he hadn't hit the man hard enough. His only consolation was the mans nose was probably hurting a lot more than his hand. He's last seen Elsie as she was being chased out of her office by Robert, glancing over her shoulder at him, trying to apologize for having to leave. He hoped she wasn't beating herself up too much about it all as it really wasn't her fault. He was amazed at Thomas though and if Thomas wasn't gay he would be seriously worried. The man had hauled Joe onto his feet and frog marched him out to the car when he mentioned hospital. He then proceeded to drive him to the hospital with the most appalling driving skills Charles had ever seen, especially as he knew Thomas was rather a good driver. He'd walked into the office two hours later after apparently dropping Joe off at his hotel and when Mary had asked where he'd been he'd answered

"I got lost."

Charles wouldn't have liked to be in that car no matter what you'd paid him. He wondered what Elsie would have thought about it. Everyone else had been a bit astounded at Thomas's behavior, but he'd always had a soft spot for Mrs Hughes ever since she'd given him a place to stay after he got kicked out of his previous place and she secretly had a soft spot for him too. Charles wanted to know how Elsie was doing, but when he'd tried to phone her from the office he'd discovered she'd left her phone on her desk.

"I'm going over there." He muttered to himself and went to grab his coat and scarf. He opened the door to find a rather breathless Elsie, skidding to a halt in front of him.

"Elsie where on earth is your coat?" He demanded to know as she stood there shivering in a large T-shirt and track suit bottoms.

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked, eyeing his scarf and coat

"Not anymore." He said

"Good" she whispered before launching herself into his arms and kissing him passionately. Charles groaned as he pulled her flush against him and she took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, her tongue delicately stroking his. Charles briefly broke the kiss so that he could sweep her up into his arms before stepping back into the house and kicking the door shut behind him.

**Yes, I am going to leave it there. No, you may not hate me. Now I have to figure out where to take this. To be honest none of this was supposed to happen but someone wanted Charles to punch him earlier in the fic so I created the opportunity. Reviews are loved and cherished! By the way, would you have been upstairs or downstairs? I would definitely would have had to be upstairs as I loath cleaning the house. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you all for your reviews. I hope this chapter isn't too much of a let down**

Elsie woke up snuggled next to something large, solid and warm. She opened her eyes to investigate to discover she was snuggled next to none other than Charles Carson. She rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows to survey the room. It was a tastefully decorated room, with everything being a different shade of silver or grey. His king sized bed dominated most of the room with a large flat screen tv in the corner and cupboards taking up one wall. She then turned her attention to the man beside her. He face was completely relaxed in sleep, making him look like what she imagined he would have looked like when he was a young boy. His salt and pepper hair had escaped its usual tame style and several curls had fallen over his forehead and his breaths made little puffs as he breathed.

"Its rude to stare you know" he rumbled, peering at her through one open eye. She grinned and snuggled into his chest while he wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer.

"Good morning" she sighed happily into his chest

"Good morning love" he said, kissing the top of her head "sleep okay?"

"Mmmmm" she hummed "better than ever. You?"

"Very well thanks. What time is it?"

She glanced over at the clock on his bedside table

"Just gone six" she told him before reaching up and kissing him slowly

"Elsie, if you keep that up we'll never get to work on time." He chuckled as they reluctantly broke apart

"Is that a bad thing?" She teased "but you're right. I still need to go home and change."

"What no overly large T-shirts in the office?" He asked in a mock serious tone

"Definitely not."

"Will you at least stay for breakfast?" He asked as she sat up, taking the sheet with her and began finding her clothes

"That depends...can you cook?" She asked with a smirk

"I can." He confirmed "maybe not as well as Beryl but I won't poison you. You can use my shower while I cook if you like?"

She nodded gratefully and disappeared into his on suite bathroom.

She emerged a little while later wearing what she'd arrived in the night before with her damp hair hanging in ringlets round her ears. She managed to find her way to his kitchen where she was met with the sight of him skillfully flipping over fried eggs.

"That smells heavenly" she said as she lent against the door frame

"I hope it tastes heavenly too" he said, turning to smile at her "you look adorable"

Elsie laughed and did a small curtsy

"Thank you kind sir. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No its all done." He said as he handed her a plate and directed her to a chair at the dining room table which already had a pot of tea waiting.

"What do you think Joe will do?" She asked softly, biting her lip. Charles considered for a moment

"He'll probably just want re compensation. The worst he can do is get me suspended for a couple of months"

"Do you really think he'd do that?" She asked frowning

"I hope not." Shrugged Charles "but if he does so be it."

"Don't say that!" Elsie exclaimed "I don't want you to lose your job because of me!"

"Calm down love, I'm sure it won't come to that." He said gently as he took her hand

"I love you Charles" she said softly, leaning over to kiss him

"And I you" he said in a bit of a dazed tone when she had finished. She glanced towards the clock and jumped to her feet

"I better go, it really wouldn't do to pitch up like this at work"

"I don't see why not" he teased as he got up "hang on, I'll get you a coat"

"Charles I'll be fine" she said

"Elsie, its pouring with rain out there. Stop arguing and put a coat on" he insisted, digging in the back of a cupboard and withdrawing a coat. "It'll probably dwarf you and its completely out of both men and woman's style but it'll keep you dry" he said as he handed it too her. She meekly put it on and smiled up at him

"Thank you" she said with a smirk "I'll give it back to you later"

"Keep it." He smiled "have you got your keys?"

"I do. Somehow they managed to stay in my pocket." She said, blushing as she remembered how they'd ended up half under his bed

"Good." He said as they both stood awkwardly at his front door

"Um...well I'll see you later then" she said softly

"I can hardly wait." He assured her and kissed her softly. She smiled at turned towards her car. Charles lent against his door frame as she drove off. He was so glad that he'd punched that awful man. He just hoped that it wouldn't come back to bite him on the bum. Or should he rather say them. It was strange seeing her so relaxed and at ease. He never realized how much her past had haunted her but now that she was free of most of it it was like a major weight had been lifted off her shoulders. He wished he could guarantee that this Joe saga wouldn't get out of hand. Then it came to him. He knew just the person.

"So Thomas, what exactly did you do with Mr Burns yesterday?" Asked Anna glancing across at his desk

"What do you mean? I took him to the hospital like he asked" Thomas said innocently

"It took you two hours to take him to a hotel fifteen minutes away." She pointed out raising an eyebrow.

"Oh alright! I took him through the darker side of town and then my car conveniently broke down. Happy?" He huffed

"Very" smirked Anna

"Anna?" A voice said and she turned to find John Bates standing there

"Mr Bates! How can I help?" She asked jumping to her feet

"I wanted to drop these off for Mrs Hughes, as a thank you" he explained indicating the flowers in his arms

"Don't let Mr Carson know" muttered Thomas causing Anna to glare at him

"That's lovely, thank you. She's not in yet but I'll put them on her desk for you." Anna said as she took them from him.

"I uh I also wondered if you'd like to have dinner with me sometime?" He asked shyly

"I'd be delighted to" grinned Anna. John Bates went bright red and nodded

"Great" he said "I'll give you a call then"

Anna sat down after he'd left to find Thomas grinning at her from his desk

"Oh shut up." She muttered going scarlet


	18. Chapter 18

**I do apologize that its taken me this long to update...I had a bit of writers block and then I spent the weekend at a friend. Don't you hate it when you announce to the world that two characters are going to end up together at the end of the movie and one of them turns out gay? Or am I the only one who's had this problem? **

"Will somebody please find me a chair? Really, a woman of my age cannot be expected to stand here for hours on end"

Elsie shot out of her office to find herself face to face with Mrs Violet Crawley, Lady of Grantham and dragon that kept the firm going. More commonly referred to as 'the old bat' by several employees.

"Lady Grantham what are you doing here?" She asked in surprise

"Really is it now a crime to want to come into the office?" She demanded as she swept into Elsie's office

'It is when you retired twenty years ago' thought Elsie but managed to hold her tongue

"Would you like a cup of tea?" She said instead.

Lady Grantham nodded as she carefully lowered herself down to sit on Elsie's swivel chair.

"Anna bring in a pot of tea will you please?" Elsie asked, sticking her head round the door.

"Right away Mrs Hughes!" The girl grinned and Elsie withdrew back into her office

"Mrs Hughes please sit down." Ordered Lady Grantham "now, what is this about Carson hitting someone in the board room?"

"A client made a derogatory comment about...someone he cares about" Elsie explained carefully. She knew that relationships in the work place were frowned upon and that Lady Grantham was never one for allowing rules to be broken.

"I see. What exactly did this man say about you?" Elsie gaped at her. How could she possibly have known?

"Now dear you really don't expect me to believe he was defending Thomas do you?" Lady Grantham chuckled as she reached over to pat Elsie's hand

"No I suppose not" Elsie said ruefully before heaving a great sigh "Joe Burns, the man that Charles punched, and I had dated while I was in law school. It ended...badly...and he decided to insult me yesterday."

"So Carson broke his nose? Dear God in heaven I don't think even my husband would have done such a thing for me." Lady Grantham remarked with raised eyebrows "he must love you very much." Elsie then proceeded to blush rather deeply just as Anna brought in the tea

"Are you alright Mrs Hughes?" She asked

"Perfectly why?"

"Your colours up that's all. I hope you're not coming down with something" Anna said, cocking her head and looking worried

'Curse my fair complexion' Elsie thought

"I'm fine thank you Anna" she said smiling up at her

"Now that we've established that Mrs Hughes is not dying might we have some tea? Preferably before it gets cold." Lady Grantham piped up from her chair. Anna quickly started pouring tea before 'the old bat' started commenting on anything else

"Now, do we have any idea what this man intends to do about this?" Lady Grantham asked once Anna had left

"Apparently he intends to sue."

"Why? Can men not withstand a bit of injured pride any longer? In my day he would have mopped up the blood and continued with his day. Not that I had much experience with men hitting one another" Lady Grantham huffed, waving her stick around and nearly knocking the teapot over in the process.

"Elsie love, have you seen my-" Charles started, walking into her office with his nose buried in paperwork but shut up when he spotted Lady Grantham seated there

"Oh, good morning." He said somewhat surprised

"Really Carson, there's no need to look quite so surprised. You're the one that asked me here after all"

Elsie whipped round to glare at Charles who was studiously ignoring her

"Yes ma'am but I wasn't expecting to see you so soon" he said

"I'm nothing if not prompt." She replied "how's your hand?"

"A bit tender but not unbearable thanks." He flexed his hand as he said this.

"Charles...why did you call Lady Grantham in?" Asked Elsie, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. He sighed and pulled up a chair

"I thought she would be better at damage control than either of us" he explained

"..and he was right. Don't you worry Mrs Hughes, I will make sure this man never thinks of suing us again. Or my name is not Violet Crawley!" She finished for him. Charles and Elsie exchanged amused glances which thankfully she missed

"Now, I really must be going. I'll leave you two love birds alone but do try and get some work done." She said as she disappeared through the door.

"Poor Joe Burns won't know what's hit him...excuse the pun" commented Elsie once she was sure Lady Grantham was out of earshot. Charles chuckled softly

"She's smart that one. I only hope she can put a stop to all this."

EHCC

Violet Crawley was in deep thought. First of all she had to stop a major court case before it even began and second of all her two top lawyers at the firm were now hopelessly in love with one another. She didn't know which outcome was worse, them breaking up and one of them leaving or them becoming so infatuated with one another that neither of them could do their job properly. When she was younger she might have insisted that they be split up but ever since her husband died she had developed a soft spot for couples that obviously deserved to be together. There wasn't a day that went by that she yearned to tell her husband about, whether it be good or bad and she wished to god they hadn't let propriety force them to spend time apart. Of course it helped that Carson and Hughes made such a good team...she only prayed that he wouldn't mess it up some how. She smiled as she remembered how Carson had called her 'love'. Her husband had always referred to her as 'darling' even when he was upset with her

'Darling, you cannot threaten the judge!'

She could though. And she had. And she'd won.

The truth was she missed him dreadfully and as loath as she was to admit it, she was lonely. Of course she still had Robert and Rosamund as well as the girls but it wasn't quite the same as having a husband to complain to at night. Because he was the only person she ever had complained to, the one person who she allowed herself to be weak around, the one person who knew she wasn't always as strong as she pretended to be.

'Darling, do stop pacing and sit down. I'll make you a nice cup of tea.'

She hadn't had a decent cup of tea ever since he died. He made it in a way that no one else ever could.

"Milady? We're here."

"Thank you Smith. I'll return shortly" she said as she got out of the car. She marched into the hotel and asked for Joe Burns. She sat and waited for him to appear

"Yes, can I help?" A strong scottish accent sounded. She looked up find a short man standing in front of her with his hands in his pockets and a large plaster over his nose

"Joe Burns?"

"Aye. You are?"

"Violet Crawley. We need to talk"

**I do hope I've got Violet right...she's a bit intimidating! I adore reviews *bats eyes in an irresistible way***


	19. Chapter 19

**'There is both good and evil inside all of us. Its the one we choose to act on that makes us who we truly are.' **

"I want you to drop the case" Violet said after Joe Burns had sat himself down across from her at her small table

"Not likely." He tried to snort but ended up wincing instead. Charles really did do a number on his nose she noted. Even with the plaster covering most of it you could still see the blue shadow of a bruise

"Why not?" She asked, sitting up straight and raising an eyebrow

"Why not? Because he broke my bloody nose!" Joe exclaimed loudly

"I'm sure it'll heal" Violet said dismissively "and besides, from what I've heard you more than deserved it"

Joe gaped at her in surprise

"I deserved it?"

"Oh for heavens sake do stop repeating what I say!" Violet snapped "yes, you deserved it."

"Lady Grantham, please forgive me but I don't quite see how I deserved it." He replied imperiously

"Was I misled to believe that you were rude to one of our employees then?" She asked

"Yes...well no...but your employees weren't exactly friendly either!" He blustered

"How so?"

"Well for one thing the little blonde one and the gay one threatened to have my eyes removed, while we were having tea! Then the gay one nearly killed me when he drove me to the hospital. Ms Hughes ran out the room without greeting me, even though we're old friends and then to top it off the big guy punched me on the nose!" Joe Burns ranted, getting up and striding round the room. Violet sat still and watched him, moving only her eyes.

"Have you finished?" She asked when he seemed to run out of things to complain about

"I...I suppose so" he said in confusion

"Good." She replied "now, I fail to see how my employees were rude. Anna, the blonde one and Thomas, the gay one were entertaining you by having a tea party in the office. I'm sure the joke about your eyes was just that. A joke. Thomas was also kind enough to drive you to the hospital after you'd insulted one of the few people he looks up to and while Carson shouldn't have punched you, I know a great many people who would have done worse to you. As for Mrs Hughes, well, if you came from my past and turned up in my board room I think I'd also run."

"Now listen here-"

"I'm listening." She said with a smile

"With all due respect, you were not there. You do not know what happened-"

"On the contrary you didn't mean any respect there"

"You're just believing what a pack of lawyers said! Lawyers lie!" He shouted

"Heavens do they really?" She asked sarcastically "I should inform you Mr Burns, that I do not employ liars and you will refrain from accusing me of doing so in the future"

He blinked at her in surprise

"Be that as it may, I will not be dropping the case no matter how many times you ask." He eventually said, recovering slightly

"I didn't ask." She said

"Yes you did." He said childishly

"No I didn't." She insisted "what I did Mr Burns was tell you that you would be dropping the case."

"The answer is still the same Lady Grantham. I will not be dropping the case." He said, folding his arms in front of him.

"Ah well." She said, picking up her bag "I guess I will be informing your soon to be ex wife of the bank account you have in Switzerland as well as the two woman you visit when you go over there. Cocoa and Candy I believe their names are, which if memory serves me correctly would mean she's intitled to sue you for every last penny in your pocket."

"How'd...you can't threaten me!" He said standing up and attempting to lean over her. She stood up and nearly knocked his nose with the top of her head as she did so. When she did pull herself up she towered over him

"I believe I just did." She told him "now, I really must be going. I expect to hear you've dropped the case by tomorrow morning."

And with that she swept past him and left, leaving him staring after her in shock.

'How in gods name did she know about that?' He asked himself as he watched her car pull away.

EHCC

"I told you not to return the coat." Charles said as he watched her walk into his office clutching it.

"It didn't get on with my coats" she winked as she passed it to him. "So I decided to return it to its rightful owner"

"Oh? And what have your coats got against the poor thing?" He teased

"They claim it comes from the eighteen hundreds and that it was a dirty old fool!"

Charles laughed

"I shall en devour to keep it under control in my closet then." He said

"Glad to hear it." She smiled as she sat down on the other side of his desk

"What's the matter?" He asked after watching her for a few seconds

"Who says anything is the matter?" She countered with a frown

"You're biting your lip, something you only do when something is bugging you." He explained, reaching over to take her hand.

"You don't think...that maybe...I should go and see Joe?" She asked quietly

"Elsie! Certainly not! Why on earth would you?" Charles exclaimed loudly

"Calm down." She hushed him "its just, maybe then we could both put the past behind us? Move on?"

Charles considered for a moment

"It sounds good aloud I'll admit, but Els, I'm worried he'll hurt you further. You heard what he said about you with three strangers in the room. What will he say when its just the two of you?"

"You're right I suppose." She sighed "I just don't want you to lose your job because of him."

"There's a very small chance of that happening" Charles said "its the very worst case scenario"

"But its still a chance Charles! I thought that if I spoke to him I could smooth it over...damage control if you will." She argued back

He got up and pulled her into a hug

"Els, I firmly believe you are a wonder woman but in this case I think talking to the man will only make it worse."

Elsie buried deeper into his arms

"I guess you're right" came the muffled reply

He smiled as he bent down to kiss the top of her head

"I usually am" he whispered

"Don't push it."

EHCC

'When did I become such a nasty person?' Joe Burns wondered as he sat in his hotel room nursing a glass of Scotch. He thought back to when they'd both been in school. Elsie had been through hell as a youngster and instead of helping her get past it he shunned her and made it worse. They'd often talked of marriage and how many kids they'd have. Now he felt as though he'd robbed her off all that because he was too worried about his own reputation. He'd met Ivy and he thought it was fate. She had been a lovely woman and they'd had a beautiful son but she had been cruelly taken from him when the boy was just ten years old. He'd then gone through a pack of woman who only wanted his money and ended up married to Ashley. A woman 15 years younger than him who had made his life a living hell ever since they'd come back from honey moon. He supposed he was paying for what he'd done when he was younger, but he hadn't realized just what a bitter and nasty person he had become. It was like walking through a cloud and suddenly everything clears to reveal the horrible truth. Elsie and Ivy had been the best things that had ever happened to him and he'd lost them both. He only hoped the big guy deserved her a lot more than he ever did.

**Read...review...tell your friends to read...make them review...thank you muchly! ;)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you for all your reviews! You guys are as awesome as Violet! **

"What do you mean he's dropped the case?" Asked Charles, nearly dropping his mug in shock

"Exactly that. He's decided not to sue you as he's realized that he was as much in the wrong as you were and that we could sue him for slander."

"...and he reached this decision on his own did he?" Charles asked raising an eyebrow at the woman seated across from him

"Most of it" she replied "my visit did help him I'll admit."

"Your what? I thought you said you wouldn't go and see him?" He demanded

"Do calm down Charles, its not as if I bribed him or anything." She smiled

"No, but I bet you threatened him" he returned.

Lady Grantham laughed

"That would be telling. Now stop sounding like my late husband and go and tell Mrs Hughes the good news. Also will you give her this?" She asked, handing him a white envelope

"Of course" he said "why though? Why did you go to such lengths for me..us?"

"Oh Carson, when will you realize that you're both practically family. You'll find we like to stick together." Lady Grantham said, leaning over and patting his hand.

"Well, I thank you. From the bottom of my heart." Carson said, covering her hand with his and giving it a gentle squeeze

"And I accept your thanks. Now go!" She ordered.

'Only Violet Crawley could manage to order you out of your own office' he thought with a smile as he left.

"Anna, has Mrs Hughes arrived yet?" He asked

"Not yet Mr Carson, she said she'd be a few minutes late." Anna informed him with a big grin on her face

"And what's got you so sparkily eyed this morning? He teased, leaning against her desk

'Cause I've found a boy that I love more than I ever did you before..." He heard Thomas sing loudly and off key from the kitchen. Anna went bright red and fiddled with her stapler

"Is this true?" He asked

"Is what true?" Asked Elsie as the wind blew her through the door

"Thomas reckons Anna has a fancy man." Charles told her with a wink

"Well if she does its none of our business." Elsie said sternly and Anna shot her a grateful smile "now, I'm sorry I'm late, but Isobel arrived earlier than expected and I had to sort out a place for her and Richard to sleep. Anna be a dear and dump these in the kitchen for me?" She asked as she passed over a box

"What are those?" Charles asked as he followed her into the kitchen

"Chicken pies. Beryl was worried that Isobel would die of starvation on the way down here. I have another box at home." Elsie explained rolling her eyes as she put down her stuff.

"Now. Come here and kiss me." She said and Charles happily obliged

"I suppose you'll be spending this evening with Isobel?" He asked, still holding her close

"I'm afraid so" Elsie sighed "but...seeming I'll be cooking why don't you come round for supper?"

"Wouldn't I be intruding?" He asked

"Not at all. First question out of Isobel's mouth this morning was "How's Charles?" So will you come?" Elsie asked, batting her eyelashes at him

"I'd love to. But first, I have important news." He said stepping away from her

"Well? Don't leave me hanging" she said impatiently as she sat down

"He's dropped the case."

"Who has? She asked absentmindedly

"Joe"

She looked up at him in surprise

"You're joking." She said

"No I'm not." He smiled

"Charles that's wonderful!" She squealed and launched herself into his arms and hugged him tightly

"But why?" She eventually asked

"He was paid a visit by Lady Grantham" he explained

"Oh that woman" Elsie muttered "but then what would we do without her?"

"I agree. She also asked me to give you this" he said and gave her the letter "I'll leave you in peace to read it" he added as he backed out of the room. She smiled gratefully in his direction before slicing open the letter and sitting down to read it

**Dear Elsie, **

**I realize that I probably could have put all this in an email, but I figured this would be more personal and from the heart. As I'm sure you've heard, I've decided not to pursue a suit with Mr Carson and I thought you might like to know my reasoning. **

**The truth is I have become a bitter person, always worrying about myself and thinking the world owes me things. I was making myself as well as those around me miserable without even realizing it. What I said to you forty years ago was unforgivable. Any man who is privileged to know you is a lucky man indeed and I was a fool to throw your love back in your face. I pray that Mr Carson is not stupid enough to do the same. But instead of trying to make amends forty years later I called you an even more unforgivable thing because once again I was only thinking of myself. I shall not beg for your forgiveness as I know that I do not deserve it, my only wish is that you have found happiness as I did in both you and my wife Ivy. I was a fool and wasted my happiness and I hope that you do not do the same. You have overcome everything that life has thrown at you and I admire you greatly for that, but Elsie, don't be afraid to rely on people occasionally. I know that I am the reason that you probably don't but trust me when I say, life is a lonely place when one stands alone. All you succeed in doing is pushing others away. **

**I am sorry for all the pain I have caused you through out your life. I am sorry for being such a selfish man. I am sorry for robbing you of our plans together. Basically I'm sorry for ever have being in your life. You deserve a man much better than I could ever be. I hope you've finally found him. **

**Sincerely, **

**Joe Burns. **

Elsie got up and walked into Charles office with tears in her eyes

"Love? What happened?" Charles asked after seeing her face. Wordlessly she handed him the letter. He lent back in his chair and read it while she perched on the chair opposite him watching his face.

"Well have you?" He finally asked

"Have I what?" She asked softly

"Found someone that deserves you?"

"Yes. Yes I have" she said through her tears as she stood up and flung herself into his arms. He held her tightly as she buried herself into his jacket

"Oh Elsie" he whispered into her hair "no man could ever deserve you. But I'm so glad that you think I do, and I hope I can make you happy.

"You already do" she said tilting her head back to look at him and he lent down and kissed her.

**Actually maybe its a good thing that they aren't together in the show. They'd never get any work done! No, forget I ever said that. They have to get together! I promise you that things will be happier for them now (I hope! Sometimes they grab my hand and take off running!). Though I have one more tiny bomb to drop on them. I promise you though I won't break anyone's heart again. I think I've done enough of that. **


	21. Chapter 21

**You guys are so lucky this got completed. I've been reading Game of Thrones. Damn you G.R.R.M damn you! My ships are in pieces. **

"Are you following me home or going back to your place first?" Elsie asked Charles as he helped her with her coat

"My place first I think, I need to drop some things off. Plus I wouldn't mind changing into something a lot more comfortable, if that's ok?"

"No problem. This gives me time to threaten Isobel into submission" Elsie winked as she turned to face him. Charles raised one eyebrow

"Isobel? Submission?" He asked

"Good point." Elsie laughed "I'll see you later then" she said, glancing round before briefly kissing him on the cheek

"Everyone knows we're together love." Charles teased, pulling her backwards and kissing her properly

"Robert Crawley doesn't." She argued, slightly breathless "nor does Ms O Brien"

"But neither of them are here." He reasoned

"True I suppose." She relented, causing him to smirk.

"Will one of you please leave? Its bad enough I've got Anna mooning around but the you two as well its becoming sickening to work here. I'll leave if this doesn't stop" Thomas interrupted them

"Ah Thomas are we making you feel lonely?" Asked Elsie as she distangled herself from Charles and wrapped the younger man in a hug making him mildly uncomfortable

"Not at all Mrs Hughes, I'd just rather not work in a place where people is fornicating all over the place" Thomas said, squirming

"Who's Anna fornicating with?" Elsie asked

"We were not fornicating!" Charles said at the same time. Thomas looked mildly amused

"What ever you say Mr Carson." He smirked "to answer your question Mrs Hughes our Anna has been out to dinner with Mr Bates."

"She's what?" Blurted Charles

"Calm down!" Elsie told him, rolling her eyes "Anna can date who ever she chooses. Now Thomas is right, Isobel will be wondering where I am."

"See you later" he called after her while Thomas waved

EHCC

"Izzy?" Elsie called as she walked into her home and was greeted with silence

"Isobel?" She called again, cocking her head to listen. There was a thump upstairs followed by a few scuffles and a few minutes later Isobel appeared on top of the stairs

"Elsie! I didn't hear you arrive." She said as she came down the stairs

"Yes because I make a habit of sneaking into my own house." Elsie muttered sarcastically

"Where's Richard?"

"Upstairs. He's taking a nap" Isobel said

'I bet he is' thought Elsie as she turned to hide her smirk

"I see. Well Charles is coming for dinner so I best get started. Want to help?"

"Please." Chirped Isobel in an unusually bright tone. Elsie glanced up and down Isobel and smirked

"Good. By the way, your buttons are squiffy" she said and turned to go into the kitchen, leaving Isobel frantically doing up her blouse and hurrying after her

"So why is Charles coming?" Isobel asked as she and Elsie began chopping things

"To celebrate." Elsie replied absentmindedly. Isobel slammed her knife down onto the table making Elsie jump and slice her finger

"Ow! Isobel!" She scowled as she got up to run her finger under the tap.

"Elizabeth Hughes is there something you're not telling me?" Demanded Isobel grabbing Elsie's hand and peering at her fingers

"Huh?" Said Elsie looking at her friend in question "Oh! God no!" She exclaimed snatching her hand back. Isobel arched an eyebrow in response

"Izzy we've been dating for just shy off two weeks. There's no way we're engaged! Even for you that's moving a little too fast."

Isobel sighed and picked up her knife again

"I suppose so. Although you have been in love for donkeys years so it wouldn't be too surprising."

"Even so. Much too fast. Now, pass us another apple." Said Elsie in her no nonsense tone "and do not throw it!" She added after catching Isobel's eye

EHCC

A vision of beauty opened the door for him. She was wearing a long black skirt and a silky shirt that draped around her neckline, dipping to show just enough cleavage. She had silver hoop earrings on as well as a touch of makeup and to top it all off she had a black sandal pair of heels on.

"You look amazing." He said softly as he drank her in

"Thanks" she blushed "Izzy decided to dress me up when she heard you were coming...poor Richard didn't know what hit him when she slammed my bedroom door in his face"

Charles laughed and handed her a bunch of flowers

"For you milady" he bowed

"Thank you sir" she curtsied before he drew her into his arms and kissed her, making her forget everything except the feel of his arms around her.

"Mmmmm would Isobel notice if you never returned to the sitting room?" He murmured as he rested his forehead against hers

"Elsie?" Isobel called "do stop monopolizing Charles by the door and let him come out of the cold!"

"I guess there's your answer" Elsie sighed, not moving an inch away from him

"Did I ever tell you your friends have rotten timing?" He asked

"Do they?" She replied coyly

"Admit it. You were thinking about not returning to the sitting room" he teased

"Elsie!" Isobel called again

"See?"

"I'm afraid she's getting back at me for earlier this afternoon" Elsie explained stepping away from him and taking his hand

"Oh?"

"I'll explain later, come on we best go in before she comes looking for us" Elsie said walking away and tugging him behind her.

"Charles how wonderful to see you again!" Isobel exclaimed when he followed Elsie into the room

"...and you Isobel" he replied and bent to kiss her on the cheek, earning him a raised eyebrow from Elsie

"Richard" he greeted shaking hands with the man

"Charles. Thank god you've arrived! I was afraid my wife was going to do something drastic to poor Els" he teased his wife who rolled her eyes

"Nothing drastic was needed Isobel, Elsie always looks perfect" Charles said never taking his eyes off her. Elsie smiled and blushed prettily

'I'm going to have to work on this going red thing' she thought 'especially with Izzy around'

"Richard, do you get the impression that we're intruding on something here?" Isobel asked with a grin. Elsie glared at her and said in an icy tone

"I'm going to put these in a vase and check on dinner. Isobel are you coming?" Before turning and marching out with a highly amused Isobel in tow. He could hear them grumbling back and forth at one another in the kitchen

"Anyone would think that they're worst enemies rather than best friends the way those two go on at one another." Commented Richard with a smile

"How long have you known Elsie?" Asked Charles

"All through her adult life, though not very well for most of it. We'd see each other at Izzy and Reggie's place every now and then. They used to put us next to one another at dinner seeing as we're both Scottish and were both single. I only really got to know her after Reggie died and Izzy and I started dating. She warned me what she would do to me if I ever broke Izzy's heart...that was the first time I ever feared for my life."

"I can imagine" chuckled Charles

"Can I get you a drink?" Asked Richard, noticing that Charles didn't have one

"Please, nothing too strong though" Charles said as Richard nodded and left the room

Just then her phone began to ring. Charles cocked his head to hear whether she would answer it from the kitchen but the grumbling continued. He shrugged and went to answer it

"Hello?...no I'm afraid she's busy, can I take a message? What! Are you sure? Yes, yes I'll tell her. Thank you."

Charles sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

How the hell was he going to tell Elsie about this?

**Reviews make me write a hell of a lot faster ;) **


	22. Chapter 22

**I know I promised to update fast and I meant to do it earlier but life had other plans for me. I hope you enjoy!**

"Charles? Who was that?" Asked Isobel as she came into the room followed by Richard

"A paramedic" he answer in a dazed tone

"Oh my god. Is it Mathew?" Isobel demanded, all traces of laughter gone from her face "I told him to drive carefully! "

"Its not Mathew" Charles interrupted raising a hand to silence her

"What then?" Asked Richard, handing Charles his glass of wine and carefully watching him

"Its Joe Burns. He's dead."

Richard and Isobel stared at him with their jaws practically touching the floor

"Are...are you sure?" Asked Isobel eventually

"That's what the man said." Charles replied heavily

"How on earth did he die? And why did they phone Elsie?" Asked Richard

"I don't know and he didn't say" Charles shrugged "how on earth do I explain this to Elsie?"

"Explain what to me?" Elsie asked from the doorway with her eyes narrowed in suspicion "who was on the phone?"

"Els..." Charles started to say but he was cut off by Isobel

"Joe Burns is dead" she blurted

"Isobel! Have a little tact!" Richard chided softly but she completely ignored him

"What?" Said Elsie, her gaze moving from Charles to Isobel and back again "what are you talking about?"

Charles stepped towards her

"I'm sorry love. A paramedic just phoned and told me he's dead."

Elsie lent against the door frame and let out a long breath

"But how?" She finally asked looking up at him with a pleading expression

"I'm not sure. Do you want to drive over to the hospital?" He offered as he wrapped his arms around her and peered down at her face

"No. Let's eat. We can find out in the morning." Elsie said determinedly

"Are you sure?" Asked Isobel, gently touching her arms

"Yes I'm sure" Elsie insisted, pulling herself away from Charles and standing upright. They all continued to watch her carefully as though she was about to explode

"Oh for heavens sake! I hadn't seen the man for the last 20 years and we didn't exactly part on good terms. I'm fine!" She exclaimed "stop treating me as though I'm china and come and eat" and with that she turned and left the room in a bit of a huff. Richard and Isobel exchanged a glance and meekly followed behind leaving Charles feeling rather bewildered. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever stop being surprised by this woman because by the time he reached the dining room she was perfectly at ease again.

EHCC

"More wine Charles?" Offered Isobel, holding up the bottle

"Just a drop thanks" he smiled holding out his glass which she promptly half filled "I said just a drop!"

"Well then give it to Elsie" Isobel said off handily as she perched next to Richard on the sofa who wrapped a arm around her waist

"I've had more than enough thank you!" Elsie piped up from her seat next to Charles as she moved her glass well away from Isobel's reach

"...and so have you Izzy" said Richard as he quickly removed the bottle from her hand

"Hey!"

"You'll live"

"Richard..."

"Izzy..."

"Hem hem" Elsie interrupted clearing her throat

"Do you get the impression we're interrupting something here Charles?" She asked with a grin.

"I do believe you're right" he answered with a wink as he squeezed her hand gently

"Oh shut up" muttered Isobel as she and Elsie collapsed into giggles. Richard rolled his eyes good natured ly and took a sip of his wine while Charles laughed at both of them.

"I can't believe he's dead" Elsie murmured suddenly sobering up "I know we weren't the best of friends in the end but to know that he's no longer there is just...weird."

"Death is always a shock" said Richard wisely "even if we've had a patient that's been terminally ill for months its still a surprise for the people that are left"

"But I don't understand why they phoned me? He's still technically married!"

"Yours was probably the only number they could find." Isobel said "do you have his wife's contact details?"

"We should do, though they'll be at the office" explained Charles "I'll see if I can find it in the morning"

"Good" yawned Isobel although she tried to stifle it "oh I do beg your pardon."

"Come on Izzy, we've had a long day and tomorrow won't be easy either so I think we best head off to bed" Richard said, standing up and reaching for her hand. Isobel began to protest but another yawn caught her unawares and she was forced to admit defeat.

"Night Els" she murmured as she kissed her on the cheek

"Night Charles."

"Good night Isobel" he smiled at her as Richard tugged her out of the room.

"So what was she getting back at you for earlier?" Asked Charles once he heard their bedroom door shut

"Hmmm? Oh, she came downstairs with her buttons done up all wrong" Elsie explained with a smirk

"I don't...oh I see" Charles said, blushing when Elsie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively

"Well I suppose I best be going, thank you for supper, it really was superb." He said, putting his glass on the coffee table and standing up

"Do you have to go?" She asked, not meeting his eyes

"Not if you don't want me to" he answered softly

"I don't want you to" she said looking up and meeting his eyes with a clear gaze and suddenly he was on his knees in front of her chair kissing her for all he was worth. She slid her arms up his chest and around his shoulders before standing up and and pulling him with her. She felt his tongue on her lips and she opened her mouth to grant him full access

"I'm assuming you don't want coffee then?" She asked breathlessly as he began to trail kisses down her neck, his hands encircling her waist

"Not particularly" he whispered against her collar bone making her shiver

"Good" she replied, kissing his earlobe before drawing his face upwards to kiss him again.

"I love you" he whispered against her lips before kissing her again

"Not as much as I love you" she countered

"Tut tut Elsie do come out of lawyer mode" he teased and she slightly slapped his chest. He ran his hands down her body to come to rest at her thighs were he then boasted her up into his arms with her legs encircling his waist

"Which way to your bedroom?"

**No, I am not going further than that but I won't object if any of you guys want to. Thank you though for your continued support I love you guys! **


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you all for your reviews! You guys have some interesting theories...I fear you might be disappointed :( although I did say it would be a small bomb! **

Charles woke up to find Elsie gone from the bed. He sat up and listened until he heard a noise in her bathroom so he got up, pulled some clothes on and followed her. He was shocked to find her sitting on the edge of the bath in floods of tears. He rushed to her side and pulled her into a hug

"Shhhhh" he soothed "Els what's the matter?"

"I'm a cold, heartless person Charles, how can you stand me?" She asked, leaning against him

"Hey now that's not true!" He protested "you're one of the warmest people I know"

"Am I? Then why did I feel nothing when you told me he was dead? Why did I carry on as though nothing had happened?" She asked through her sobs

"Because that's your way of dealing with life Els, you close off. It doesn't mean you're heartless, it means you're brave and strong. Don't let yourself believe anything else." He said, holding her shoulders and forcing her to look at him

"If I'm so strong then why am I sobbing my eyes out in the middle of my bathroom?" She muttered

"Even the strongest of us need to let go sometimes Els" he answered gently "its ok to be upset, even if he broke your heart"

"I don't know what to do Charles" she whimpered

"Well I do. First of all we're going to stay on the bathroom floor for as long as it takes. Then you're going to wash your face and get dressed while I make you some breakfast and then we're going to go into the office and find his wife's number before going over to the hospital and finding out what happened. Okay?"

She sniffed before nodding slightly

"Tell me a happy memory about Joe" Charles asked after a few minutes of silence

Elsie thought for awhile before answering

"Joe was always popular in school. He was funny and charming and everyone wanted to be able to say they knew him. Whenever we went out for coffee together or anything like that there was always someone who wanted to tag along. So one time we took a picnic into the forest near where we stayed in the hope of avoiding people but what we didn't know was that the local scout troop were having a camp that same weekend so we spent the entire afternoon hiding away from them behind various trees and such. By the time we gave up it was already getting dark and we'd completely missed lunch so when we eventually got home we were both starving so I offered to cook something for him and ended up setting the stove alight. In the end we just ate our picnic on the sofa."

"Sounds like a day full of disasters" Charles commented

"Oh it was" she agreed "but we were in fits of laughter by the next morning."

"What about your stove?" He asked

"Beryl gave me her old one along with a cook book and a fire extinguisher" Elsie chuckled slightly before becoming sober again

"Its funny how even the best memories become tainted over time" she said sadly

"But that's why we have to make new ones" Charles said wisely

"True." She answered "I suppose we better go down, before Izzy starts looking for me" she sighed

"We'll get through this Els, I promise" he said as he stood and helped her up

"I know" she said quietly "I just wish we didn't have to"

EHCC

"Oh hello Charles, I didn't know you were staying the night" Isobel greeted him as he came downstairs

"I wasn't going to but Elsie asked me to stay" he answered as the tips of his ears went red

"How is she?" Isobel asked quietly

"Upset." He answered "I hope today isn't going to make it worse"

"How could today make it worse?" Asked Isobel as she walked towards the kitchen with him following

"I'm worried that he killed himself. He wrote to Elsie saying he was sorry for all the things he had done to her in the past." Charles explained

Isobel lent against the kitchen counter

"I hope not. That would ruin Elsie, she'd blame herself." She said thoughtfully "but I don't think he would have done that, he was too stubborn to let anything get to him"

"I hope you're right" Charles sighed "now, shall I cook?"

EHCC

"Good morning sir how may I help you?" A tiny woman asked from behind her desk at the hospital

"Uh yes, we received a call last night from a paramedic that a man named Joe Burns had died and I was wondering if you could give us anymore information?" Charles asked wincing when Elsie tightened her grip on his hand even further.

"One moment please" she said and started banging away on an ancient computer "here we are, Joseph Burns, age approximately early fifties died at around 6 PM yesterday, suspected heart attack. The paramedic, Steve Morrison phoned Mrs Elizabeth Hughes as that was the only contact number he could find, I'm assuming that's you?" She asked glancing towards Elsie who nodded "are you his sister?"

"No. I'm his lawyer." Elsie sighed "is there no mention of his wife?"

The woman hummed and went back to her screen

"I'm afraid not and he wasn't wearing a wedding ring either, perhaps they'd quarreled?"

"They were getting a divorce" Elsie snapped as she rubbed her temples. She and Charles has spent the morning checking every bit of information they had on Joe to try and find his wife but there had been no address or contact number. All she knew was her initials were T.R.B which turned out to be a fat lot of good

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." She sighed

"Rough day?" Asked the receptionist kindly

"You have no idea." Replied Elsie

"Well, I'm sure a nice dinner with Mr Hughes here will sort everything out." She said. Charles blinked at her in confusion before realizing that 'Mr Hughes' was actually him

"Of that I have no doubt." Elsie smirked as she caught his eye "would it be possible to get a print out of that?"

"Well, I know you've been called Mrs Carson in the past but that was a first." Charles chuckled as they left

"I think youngsters find it hard to believe that people our age can still be dating. They think by the time you're forty you're married and raising kids." She answered grinning up at him

"Perhaps we're the exception that proves the rule then" he agreed

"How on earth do we find his wife Charles?" Elsie asked as they got into his car

"I have absolutely no idea. I suppose we could try ringing up all the Burns in the phone book" he mused

"That won't work, he said she moved out six months ago. Naturally he didn't bother to state where she moved to." Elsie griped, staring out the window "why is everything always so complicated? I thought the Bates trial was hard but this makes it look like child's play"

"Maybe we should get Anna looking then" he answered

"I did. Thomas as well and they've both come up with nothing."

"Well then we do what Mary would do when she can't get something right." Charles said

"Which is?" Elsie asked with a raised eyebrow. Charles turned to her and smiled

"We go to her Grandmother."

**I command thee to review! Unless you don't want to...then I don't like you...just kidding just kidding! **


	24. Chapter 24

**Cue Violet! ;)**

"What do you mean he's dead?" Violet asked in astonishment from her seat in front of her fireplace

"He died of a heart attack last night" explained Charles. He'd dropped Elsie off at the office and came alone purely because he didn't trust Lady Grantham's tongue

"Incredible" Violet breathed in astonishment, shaking her head "what about his divorce?"

"Well it'll fall through, you can't exactly divorce a dead man can you?" He reasoned as he accepted a cup of tea from her house keeper

"I suppose not" she agreed "of course it would happen to a man" she added with a eye roll

"What on earth do you mean?" Asked Charles in surprise

"Well no woman would dream of dying in the middle of her divorce! I mean, now who will pay his legal fees?" Violet demanded to know

"Well as I punched him on his first consultation there aren't any legal fees" Charles reasoned, still slightly flabbergasted at her pronouncement

"Yes but what if you hadn't?" Violet insisted

"I suppose we'd have to charge his heir" Charles said "who, incidentally, we can't find"

"What do you mean you can't find her? Surely her details are on the divorce documents?" Violet asked

"They are, but there's only her initials and the address is one she moved out of three months ago" Charles explained with a sigh

"But surely you can make something out of that?" Violet asked disbelievingly and Charles shook his head "well then you should have come to me." She snapped

"I did." Charles said with a smile

EHCC

Joe Burns was buried in Scotland a week later. Charles and Elsie had finally managed to track down his wife, Mrs Theresa Rosemary Burns 'call me Tessa' thanks to Violet, who had managed to find out everything about the woman including where she had been born ('an address would have done Charles thought after half an hour of listening to all the details) and she had made all the arrangements. Elsie hadn't wanted to go, thinking she wouldn't be welcome but Charles, Isobel, and Beryl had insisted that she did. The funeral was reasonably well attended, with a fair few of old school pals of Elsie's in attendance so she had spent a good hour catching up on their news.

'Its a bit like a really bad high school reunion' she thought as she had another baby photo shoved under her nose

"...and that's my grand baby Samantha" the woman was saying. Elsie couldn't even remember if she was talking to Mrs Elliott or Mrs Reid any longer.

"She looks beautiful" Elsie smiled when in truth it looked like any other baby. "I think she has your nose"

"That's what everyone always says!" The woman exclaimed in a tone that was far too happy for a funeral making Elsie wince

"I wonder who that is." Another woman joined them (Mrs Parker perhaps?) Elsie turned to see Charles handing Isobel a cup of tea.

"Charles Carson" she provided "he works with me"

The other two woman eyed him from top to toe

"He looks good enough to eat" one of them finally said "do you know if he's single?"

Elsie looked incredulously at her. This was a funeral for heavens sake!

"No. He's not" she answered before muttering her excuses and walking over to them

"Everything alright?" Asked Isobel gently

"Perfectly, if this was a singles bar." Muttered Elsie "honestly do these people have no respect?"

"No. Elsie you're a lawyer you should know that" said Beryl as she sampled some short bread "this is rather good, remind me to ask for the recipe"

"Actually most of our clients are rather nice" mused Charles thoughtfully

"Have they put a chocolate chip in the middle?" Beryl continued, closing her eyes in order to better focus on the flavors and ignoring Charles completely

"Yes they have." A tall woman said behind her. She had blonde hair cut in a bob just below her ears that was perfectly straightened. She had rather a pointy face and was as thin as a rake with icy blue eyes that glittered like stones.

Beryl hastily swallowed and took a sip of tea to wash it down

"Well they're very good." She smiled

"Thank you, you're Beryl Patmore right?"

"That's me" Beryl replied

"Tessa Burns, pleasure to meet you" The woman said as she shook hands with them all

"..and you must be Elsie" she said when she reached her "Joe talked so much about you I knew who you were the second you walked into the church"

"That sounds ominous" Elsie commented with a smile

"Not at all, he only ever said nice things about you" Tessa replied a little sadly before mentally shaking herself and brightening "thank you for coming though, it would have meant a lot to him"

"We wanted to be here" said Charles when he caught sight of Elsie's astounded face "it must be hard for you, divorcing him then having him die suddenly."

"It was." Tessa agreed "even though we were getting divorced I still loved him. Even if he didn't think I did."

Tessa seemed to lose herself in thought for a minute, staring sadly at the ground

"We're terribly sorry" Elsie offered quietly

"Thank you" Tessa said with an attempted smile "please excuse me, I must have a word with Mrs Parker" she added and walked towards the small click of gossiping woman

"Poor woman" said Isobel sadly once she was out of earshot "she seems to really have loved him."

"Joe was always charming, he was very easy to love" snorted Beryl. Elsie turned to look at her sister in law

"Beryl don't be nasty"

"I'm not" Beryl defended herself. "We both know its true."

"Even so..." Elsie said sternly as she lent against Charles "do you suppose we can leave yet?" She added

"Now who's being nasty?" Asked Beryl in mock outrage

"No one" Elsie said "its just my feet are killing me. That's the last time I listen to Charles's fashion advise"

Beryl opened her mouth to give a saucy response but was cut off by Charles

"I'm pretty sure we can leave, other people are. Besides, we need to leave early tomorrow if we have any hope of getting to work on time on Monday."

"Oh okay" Beryl said "but let me get that recipe first"

"Beryl!" Elsie exclaimed

"What? They're discussing grand children for heavens sake!" Beryl said

"I'll go with her and make sure she stays out of trouble." Isobel offered, leaving Elsie and Charles to wend their way towards the car alone

"I'm not going to lie, I'm glad that's over" Elsie said as they walked

"Me too" Charles agreed "but I've never been a fan of funerals"

"No, I mean this whole very long chapter of my life" Elsie said stopping to look at him "I finally feel as though I can stop blocking the world out"

"I'm glad" Charles said softly

"I feel as though I can move forward and stop dwelling on the past. Thank you Charles" she said

"What for?" Asked Charles in surprise

"Loving me? Believing in me?" Elsie offered as she bit her bottom lip

"Oh Elsie, there's no need to thank me for that!" Charles insisted "now, would it be improper for me to kiss you?"

"I've been waiting for you to do so all afternoon" Elsie grinned and so Charles Carson did just that, leaving quite a few woman speechless behind them.

**Finally starting to wrap this up. Thank you for your support! Please review! **


	25. Chapter 25

**Dedicated to all my loyal reviewers! You guys rockith! **

Her doorbell sounded through the house and she rushed downstairs to answer it, still fastening one earring. She opened her door to reveal a very handsome looking Charles Carson who had a light smattering of snow across his shoulders

"Hello love, you look beautiful" he greeted as his eyes roamed her figure. She wore a gold dress that hugged her figure and stopped just above her knees and she'd decided to leave her hair down for the event. They were headed for to the firms Christmas party, and she'd been saving the dress for awhile now. Six months had passed since the funeral and life had gone back to normal. Well almost. Love had suddenly blossomed on every front, with Anna having become Mrs Bates and even Thomas had managed to find himself a chap. Isobel had rung a week ago in a great fit of excitement to tell her that Mathew and Mary were now engaged and at the very end of that lengthy conversation she added that she thought Beryl had a fancy man and then there was Charles. Ever since the funeral their relationship and taken off like a runaway train and it showed no signs of slowing down. They still had spats at work but within an hour one of them would bring the other a cup of tea and all would be forgotten. They still went out for drinks or dinner after work but now he kissed her in the middle of the restaurant and held her hand over the table. Mary often joked that they should just move in with one another and be done with it after she had arrived at Charles's house early one morning to find Elsie there for the sixth time in a row. They had picnics in the park, attended concerts and had movie marathons together, where if she got teary eyed Charles would roll his eyes and hand her a tissue. They through little dinner parties together and helped one another with the cooking (where Elsie had to control herself, who knew he could be so sexy in an apron?). Beryl now called them the teenagers after arriving one afternoon to find them laughing their heads off and covered in cake batter. When asked how that happened Charles had replied 'she started it' (she hadn't. Not really, she was just over zealous in her mixing). They were a team. They were best friends. They were head over heels in love.

"Thank you, you look rather festive yourself with that snow" she grinned before reaching up and dusting it off and kissing him soundly

"Are you ready?" He asked when they finally parted

"Almost" she replied "let me just fix my lipstick and grab a coat"

"Don't bother with the lipstick, you know I'll only mess it up again" he teased and backed off when she swatted him. She disappeared up the stairs and returned a few minutes later wrapped in a royal blue coat, the one he had given her for her birthday.

"I was right." He commented when she reached him

"About?" She asked with a quizzical look on her face

"That coat really does bring out your eyes" he told her with a smile making her roll them and blush. He bent down to kiss her again but she danced out of his reach

"Uh uh uh" she teased "you're not messing it up again so soon"

Charles sighed and stared at the ceiling.

"We better go then." He said once he had finished mentally counting to ten "else I may just grab you and refuse to let you leave"

"I'd like to see you try" she snorted

"Is that a challenge?" He asked with a raised eyebrow

"No. Isobel would never forgive me if I don't pitch." Elsie said

"Isobel? Why is Isobel going to be there?" He asked as they made their way to the car

"Well Mathew is coming up because of Mary and so Robert invited her and Richard as well" Elsie explained "and Thomas is bringing his new fella as well".

"Well I hope Anna uses the opportunity to get back at him, he's been giving her hell since she started dating John" Chuckled Charles. It was true, Thomas always managed to make the most innocent of statements sound shocking and Anna had already lost her stapler after she threw it at him when he asked quite innocently what Mr Bates's bedroom looked like.

"No doubt she will, our Anna has never been slow." Elsie smirked. She always saw a bit of herself in Anna and favored her more than anything.

"How soon do you suppose there'll be a baby?" Charles asked conversationally as they drove

"For heavens sake, they only just got married!" Elsie exclaimed "she can't have one yet, I still need her in the office"

Charles laughed

"I will inform Anna of that fact" he assured her

"Don't you dare".

EHCC

"Mrs Hughes you look lovely!" Cora Crawley said as they stepped into the room "you must tell me where you bought that dress and coat!"

"Oh, the dress I found in a small shop in London and the coat was a present from Charles" Elsie smiled as she shed the coat and hung it up

"Its suits you perfectly! It appears I married the wrong man" she winked making Charles splutter and cough.

"I'm afraid he's spoken for." Elsie laughed "has Isobel arrived yet?"

"She went to have a word with the caterer I think" Cora said vaguely as she took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter

"Your caterer wouldn't happen to be Beryl Patmore would it?" Charles asked shrewdly

"That's the one! Do you know her?" Asked Cora with a smile

"But what happened to the other one? Alfred someone or other?" Elsie asked, slightly confused

"Poor dear has been dreadfully ill" Cora explained "please excuse me, I have something I need to talk to Edith about." And with that she sauntered away. No sooner had she left when they were pounced on by Thomas who grabbed Elsie's hand and dragged her off to meet 'Tony'

"Elsie looks radiant tonight" commented Isobel as she and Beryl came up to Charles

"No doubt because-" began Beryl but Isobel cut her of with a low warning

"Its a surprise to see you here Beryl, we didn't know there had been a change of arrangments" Charles said with a smile

"I meant to call, but as it was last minute I completely ran out of time." Beryl explained "luckily most of its done, because Daisy is absolutely useless tonight" she added in an amused tone. Charles looked over to where she was looking to see Daisy and William engaged in a rather animated discussion.

"Williams not a bad lad" he chuckled but the only response he got was a disgruntled 'hmmph'

"By the way there's something I wanted to ask you two ladies..."

EHCC

By the time Elsie had managed to distangle herself from Thomas and Tony and make her way back to Charles he had been joined by the Bateses and all five of them were in a heated discussion over cake.

"I'm telling you chocolate is the best" she heard John say before Isobel jumped in

"No no no coffee is."

"Really guys? You're all adults and that's what you choose to argue over?" Asked Elsie as she joined them

"We got bored discussing world peace." Charles explained with a grin

"Before this it was pie" Beryl said wryly and Elsie burst out laughing

"So Anna what are you doing for Christmas this year?" She eventually asked

"Oh we're going to Johns mums place for lunch. We were supposed to go this evening but delayed it because of the party" Anna explained

"Yes why is your office party on Christmas eve?" Asked Isobel

"It was the only free evening the Crawleys had." Explained Elsie "I'm actually surprised so many people pitched"

"Care to dance?" Charles suddenly said, holding his hand out to her

"Sure" she said slightly surprised and he led her out onto the dance floor

"What was that?" She asked as they glided along

"Its a nice song" he said innocently with a twinkle in his eye

"I see" she laughed

It was a long time before either of them got off the dance floor. Elsie was sure she had danced with every man in the room and she was sure Charles had danced with every woman.

"I think we can leave" Charles said once they found their way back to one another "else soon it'll just be us and Thomas"

Elsie glanced round and shuddered.

"You're right" she said "let's go" and dragged him off to get there coats. Elsie fell asleep in the car on the way home, so Charles carefully carried her to her bed and gently removed her shoes before removing his jacket and lying down next to her.

EHCC

Something was poking her. That something was going to die if it didn't stop. She grumbled something into her pillow as she buried down further under the covers

"Elsie please wake up." Charles said, still poking her arm "I want to give you your present"

She turned over and opened one eye

"Can't it wait?" She asked eyeing his excited face

"Not really" he insisted. She sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes as she did so. She looked around her room to discover a vase of roses on every single surface and a tea tray on top of her dresser.

"What time did you get up?" She asked in amazement

He ignored her question completely

"Elsie I have something to ask you" he said seriously. She shot him a suspicious glance and sat back and waited. He took a deep breath and took her hand

"Elizabeth Hughes, will you marry me?"

"What?!" She yelped in surprise as he withdrew a box from his dressing gown pocket and opened it to reveal a beautiful yet simple ring

"Oh my god" she breathed "yes Charles! Yes I will marry you!" She all but shouted before flinging herself into his arms and hugging him tightly. He held her back slightly as he slipped the ring on her finger before drawing her in and giving her a searing kiss

"Oh I must phone Isobel and Beryl!" She said with tears of happiness pouring down her face

"They already know" he told her. Seeing her bemused expression he added "I asked their permission"

"Oh Charles" Elsie whispered before kissing him again.

**...And I think we'll leave our two lawyer love birds there in peace. They've asked for reviews as wedding gifts...;)**


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